Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

13 reviews

chloelai12's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

oxian_d's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This book was the first book I've read with eagerness and excitement to finish and read the next after hp, mazerunner and shadow & bone book series. It had been so long that I found all the good and interesting things in a book. The mystery, the drama, the history, the magic, the color of it all so enamored and intriguing for a YA book to read. 

It's more than a fantasy, more than a myth, it is magic and alchemy of words fused in this book. The book cover itself is fascinating and that's how I was drawn to it, from the cover to the title then unbeknownst to me it was a treasure to be held. I got emotionally entwined and time passed around me, but not so much as forgetting. It was strange like the character himself but beautifully strange in ways one would surmise otherworldly enthralling and captivatingly breathless that I finished in about a week. Really a masterful work, excitingly scary, heart wretching, breaking and maddeningly brilliant. It was poetic and magically made, never have I read a nov l like myth so beautifully wounded and bound. The ending is to be continued and I can't wait for more. Kudos to the author for seamlessly concocting magic, myth and science with grace. You truly are the weaver of alchemical words in music, color and dreams. 
Can't wait to read the next and more of your work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

suhbreenah's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Abandonment

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Trafficking

Minor: Rape

kathrynleereads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

As a human, mysteries intrigue me. As a person who devoted years to the study of anthropology, mysteries of culture consume me. 

So a story about a city, mysterious from the beginning, but suddenly lost, disappeared from the world? It felt like magic to have stumbled upon it.

Right from the prologue, Strange the Dreamer grabbed my attention and refused to let go. 

The story, the characters, the settings, the dreams, they all just kept getting better and better. 

Watching the history of Weep unfold bit by bit in tiny little shards of knowledge was mesmerizing.

Other than the gods themselves, there were no characters that I didn’t like. 

The only two who came close were Minya and Thyon, but even the two of them weren’t evil, they just lacked compassion. 

And the dreams.

Laini Taylor’s writing truly encompasses and deserves the word “art.”

I have long wished that I could dive into the worlds I read about, and then there I was, reading about a world I wanted to dive into, and within that world they were doing the same thing.

The connection I felt to Lazlo and Sarai as they dove into dreams together and made their stories was one of the strongest I’ve ever felt with a character (or characters in this case). 

I’m both excited and terrified to learn where the story, and the unseen city of Weep itself, go from here.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, and Blood

Minor: Homophobia

kylemhaggerty's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Colonisation

lejuletre's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

midnightverde's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This fantasy novel is beautifully written. There are clues throughout the story to the mysteries of the lost city of Weep, yet there are still so many questions. The characters are full of depth and it’s easy to fall in love with many of them (and passionately hate others). There is a cliffhanger at the end of the book and I have to go put the final book of the duology on hold now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Moderate: Pregnancy

hiddeninfantasy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

bethy_joy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Racism, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

albireotales's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

Loved Lazlo. Suffered for Sarai.
Hated Minya. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment