Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Beautiful, by Renée Ahdieh

24 reviews

phoxyphoenix's review against another edition

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Stalking, and Death

Moderate: Murder, Racism, Violence, Sexism, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

thebougiebookworm's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I won’t lie to you — I bought this book solely on the basis of its cover. It’s so cool and I did see it was about vampires, and one thing about me is I will never turn down a vampire story. 

There is so much to love about this book. The setting, 1800s New Orleans, is as vibrant a character as the actual people. The vivid imagery and attention to detail Renée Ahdieh pours into this novel allows the reader to actually immerse themselves in this world. The characters have rich backstories and are morally complex. I was surprised how well developed everyone was considering the sheer size of the cast. 

My minor critique was with the pacing. I felt it was tediously slow at times and almost too accelerated at others. Even so, the story roped me in from the beginning and had me actually surprised by a few of the twists and turns that come to light in the final act. 

The ending was a bit abrupt and left me slightly puzzled, but I assumed that’s intentional as this is merely the first book in a four book saga. Needless to say, I will absolutely be picking up the next three as soon as possible!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Torture, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

bookishromantics's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Gore, and Death

Moderate: Stalking and Sexual assault

Minor: Racial slurs

shaniarosie's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

lousnewchapter's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Violence, Injury/injury detail, and Murder

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Stalking

siglerbooknook's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Minor: Death of parent and Abandonment

allyordyna's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Woah. Blew twilight out of the water, I must say.🤯

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Murder

Moderate: Classism, Gore, Violence, Sexual assault, and Sexism

Minor: Injury/injury detail, Stalking, Religious bigotry, Rape, and Racism

darbyl's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• 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

Graphic: Rape, Death, Sexual violence, Murder, Sexual assault, and Blood

shorts_family's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I would consider this story to be pretty middle-of-the-road as far as vampire novels go. It wasn't so bad that I couldn't finish it, but it also wasn't so enrapturing I couldn't put it down. I think my main issue is with how slow the pacing is, I feel like there were several chapters that could've been removed altogether and it wouldn't have altered any significant part of the story. No spoilers, but there was one good twist/reveal and two twists/reveals that I felt had absolutely no buildup to them whatsoever, so they didn't feel satisfying at all, unfortunately. I loved the dynamic between Celine and Bastien, and there were moments of  the book that were genuinely funny, but overall I wanted to be pulled into the book more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Rape, Racism, Violence, Murder, and Sexual assault

Minor: Racial slurs, Cursing, and Death of parent

h_reads98's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Blood

Moderate: Racism, Sexism, and Violence

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment