Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Together We Burn by Isabel Ibañez

19 reviews

httponyo's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Animal death, and Confinement

Moderate: Sexual content and Death of parent

Minor: Misogyny

thebookaholic's review

adventurous emotional slow-paced

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

3.0

I'm not quite sure how to put into words what I thought of this book. I really wanted to love this book, I find the setting and premise really interesting, but it just fell flat for me. It took me nearly two weeks to read the first half and one day to read the second, if that says anything. 

The first section of the book was just weirdly paced, I didn't feel drawn in or attached to the characters (I found the MC sooo insufferably annoying and out of touch to the point of it drawing me out of the story because I couldn't get on board with her points of view on things) and I just was not very interested in what was happening so found it super difficult to want to pick up the book and when I did, I was reading in very short stints. However I still wanted to finish the book and found that once I reached the 250ish page mark, I was a lot more drawn in. There was more happening, faster pacing, the characters started revealing things which improved the plot etc. and from there it got a lot better (except the time when (very small spoiler)

amongst all the other shit going on, Zarela complains about fucking washing and drying her hair saying its 'the worst thing in the world' like GIRL GET A GRIP

). I still found the plot a little haywire at best, but I at least was more attached to the story and wanted to keep reading, and I appreciated how the story ends. 

Overall, I did like the setting and some of the side characters, but really struggled with the MC and that took away a lot of enjoyment of reading for me. If you're super intrigued by the plot and can handle explicit POVs and scenes related to supporting animal hatred/violence/killing for sport (not saying the author supports this or anything, but a lot of the book is actively pro these themes in regard to dragons) then I would say give it a go, keeping in mind that it gets a lot better in the last third of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

amberinpieces's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Blood, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, and Sexism

Minor: Death of parent, Death, Grief, Alcohol, and Murder

elizajaquays's review against another edition

I really don't love the idea of dragonfighting rings and attacking the dragons for public sport. Especially not since the viewpoint character supports this behavior. If this were told from the perspective of the person who is against it, I would give it more of a chance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, and Animal death

Moderate: Death of parent

meeshell128's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Grief, Sexism, and Misogyny

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

4.0

This reminded me of How to Train Your Dragon but for older readers and I am here for it. I didn't even realize this was about dragons until I started readin git, but yay! We need more YA dragon books, honestly. They don't get nearly the amount of attention that they deserve.

I basically listened to this book in one sitting because it was so on the edge of your seat. I needed to know what happened next! Ibañez does such a great job with world building, and even if the plot was a little predictable, I found I didn't mind. I was engrossed in what was happening and the chemistry between Zarela and Arturo. So well done.

All in all, if you think you'd like an aged up version of How to Train Your Dragon with Spanish influences, you'll definitely love this book!  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Death of parent

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, and Violence

Minor: Vomit, Self harm, and Confinement

beautifulpaxielreads's review

adventurous emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I'll have more to say later, but for now all I'll say is I enjoyed the heck out of this. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this.

Zarela Zalvidar is a character who kind of sneaks up on you. At first, I disliked her initial attitude towards the protestors who oppose dragon-fighting - a traditional sport in the fictional land of Hispalia, rather like bullfighting in Spain - but I understood her fear of dragons. But as the novel progresses, her determination, toughness, and stubbornness made me root for her. And it did seem that she

changed her attitude at the end

, which I appreciated. I also enjoyed her relationship with her father, it is obvious how much she cares about him.

Of note too, is that Isabel Ibañez takes care to show us that Zarela's opinion is not the only one to be valid, and she does that with the character of Arturo Díaz de Montserrat, Zarela's reluctant trainer and

eventual love interest

. Arturo, a brooding and rough-hewn ex-dragon fighter is now vehemently against dragon fighting, and both he and Zarela are stubborn to a fault. Their growing relationship was a beautifully written slow burn.

It is here that I need to warn you - do not read this book if you are hungry. Ibañez describes food - Spanish food, in this instance - in a way that truly makes your mouth water. I'd like a slice of toasted bread with Jamon, tomatoes, and a generous slathering of olive oil, please.

Having said all of the above, there were ways in which I think the novel fell ever so slightly short. The climax - although I loved the way in which the tension slowly built - felt ever-so-slightly rushed. And the eventual villain reveal was a bit unbelievable, which I thought could have been helped by  Ibañez showing us more of his character. The timeline also occasionally confused me (

how many years ago did Zarela's mother die?

).

But that ending? Where Zarela ended up

dancing with the dragon instead of fighting it

. Chef's kiss. 

A good YA read for anyone who is a fan of spicy slow-burn relationships and Spanish culture.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder

Moderate: Gore, Medical content, Sexual content, Blood, and Child death

Scenes of immolation causing death via dragon fire,

including Zarela's mother

. Non-graphic descriptions of bodily mutilation. There are sexually-charged moments (including one

sex scene

) but these are tastefully done and not very graphic.

emmakchapman's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death of parent, Death, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Vomit

roget's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Violence, Emotional abuse, Excrement, and Sexual content

Minor: Self harm, Terminal illness, and Vomit

More info on the SA tags:

****There are scenes where the Zarela assumes Arturo is resisting out of trying to make a decision for her, rather than because he just doesn’t want to kiss her or be close to her. In these cases, she does push him for more after hearing a clear “no,” and while the specific “women are owned by their male relatives” context should be taken into account (because that impacts cues in romantic situations, even though it should not), I wish those scenes had practiced the same respect for consent that we see Zarela herself offered by Arturo. On paper, she does assault him, even if the tensions and plot and everything don’t make it out like she did. (Tldr: it’s the surprise kiss/I know you like me tropes). Even if he wanted more, she should have respected the “no.” I don’t think the writer intended the scenes to carry that sort of negative meaning, but it’s important to mention. This writer isn’t the first or thousandth author to use these tropes romantically, but I think it’s important to talk about when it comes up. I loved so much about this story—the setting, the characters, the world—but I wish those moments had been done differently.

stardust_heidi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious 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

Love love loved this. The main pairing was so perfect, the grumpy brooding dude and the takes no shit heroine. I thought the setting and plot were so unique. I can’t wait to read more of this author’s work!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, and Grief