Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood

16 reviews

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Vomit, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Grief, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Cursing, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Chronic illness, and Emotional abuse

maregred's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Body horror, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Violence, Child abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Colonisation, Sexism, and Racism

puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.5

It was a quick and engaging read. Sometimes maybe too quick; the romance went a little fast for me. I think that might be typical of YA, though. I did like how the romance was written, but it was a little hard to buy that it all happened over the course of a few days.

The atmosphere of the ice cold house in the middle of the desert was perfectly creepy. But here I also felt like the horror would have benefited from a little more time to breathe. I guess I like my gothic horror with a little less action and a little more dread. I did love the way warding off the Evil Eye worked with the crafting of amulets, magic as a precise & complex skill.

Overall it was a great book, just a little rushed at times for my taste. It works well as a Jane Eyre retelling, but it also stands on its own. I recommend it if you like YA fantasy and/or romance and gothic horror.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Classism, Death of parent, and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicidal thoughts

toffishay's review against another edition

dark funny 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

3.25

I loved the romance! Love Andromeda and love Magnus! Which is great because their romance is the biggest chunk of the plot, even more than the fantasy so if you don't buy into that then the rest of the book doesn't work. The fantasy elements were fine to me, they kind of fit that zone of generic YA fantasy. I like the haunted house aspect, which is a more interesting kind of story to me than other YA stories that would be more adventure based. It makes the story lean more Gothic, which makes sense because this is a Jane Eyre inspired story. The pacing is annoying and honestly, I didn't really care about the fantasy parts like all the fighting. I predicted some of the end, but that may be a reality of a retelling as well. The relationship between Jember and Andromeda was interesting too and <SPOILER> I liked that there were no easy answers with that one. <END SPOILER> The horror elements are well-done though, like I was really creeped out. Overall, a nice YA story that I could actually revisit again because I loved the romance!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Blood, Gore, Violence, Death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, and Body horror

Minor: Sexism, Racism, Trafficking, Infidelity, Gun violence, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Murder, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury

madamenovelist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Violence, Murder, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, Abandonment, Blood, Gore, Grief, and Confinement

Minor: Trafficking

There is a brief mention of a child being rescued from sex trafficking. The emotional/physical abuse, blood, gore, and violence are all very graphic. Not for the sensitive.

erandle's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Body horror

Moderate: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Colonisation, Death of parent, Suicide, Addiction, and Bullying

clea's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad fast-paced

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

3.0

The premise of this novel sounded very interesting and the world where the stoty took place was intruiging (yet a little confusing). 
But the heavy focus on the romance made me lose interest (I'm not a big fan of the insta-love trope) and overshadowed the more compelling storylines and characters. 
I liked the haunted atmosphere Blackwood created and the action scenes were fun. 
Although the novel tackled a lot of heavy topics, it didn't leave an impression on me. But as I have not read Jane Eyre, I possibly missed some underlying  nuances and deeper meaning. 

Overall, it was an entertaining read with complex characters. 
If you are looking for a romance taking place within a creepy/gothic atmosphere and you like YA fantasy, I think you will adore this book ! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Blood, and Child abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Colonisation, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Slavery

emily_mh's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.5

I started off LOVING this Jane Eyre retelling. I thought that Blackwood did such a good job at creating Rochester’s desperation in Magnus and the dialogue between Andromeda and Magnus felt as dramatic and devoted as it did in the original. The setting was also really intriguing. However, I liked the book less and less as time went on. There was a lack of context historically and geographically which made it difficult for me to place the book. The romance became the sole focus to the detriment of the more interesting cleansing-the-household plotline. And also the drama in that romance was SO contrived; at some points I didn’t even know what they were disagreeing about. Most importantly, I don’t think it worked well as a Jane Eyre retelling. There was a lack of atmosphere, and also none of the themes of coming-of-age/character development that really makes Jane Eyre stand out to me. Also, the romance in the original is an important part, but not the ONLY part, which is kind of how it ends up in this book. Moreover, I don’t think the toxic relationship between Andromeda and her mentor is given the gravity that it deserved. I also thought that the whole concept of disabilities coming from the attraction of the Evil Eye was super problematic. 

I would by no means say this was bad, it just didn’t live up to the expectations it set and instead presented an average, slightly gothic instalove romance. As a side note, I did listen to the audiobook and thought it was okay. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, and Death of parent

Moderate: Violence, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Ableism

Minor: Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Gun violence, Racism, Drug use, Mental illness, Slavery, War, Excrement, Rape, Pedophilia, and Suicide

Menstruation, drowning, chronic pain

ruthlessreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

I really liked this book & thought it was a beautiful take on Jane Eyre. I loved the main character & the love interest felt very Rochester to me. 

I did not like the forgiveness of the abusive parent figure. Lost a star for that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Bullying, Colonisation, Classism, and Fire/Fire injury

earlgreyandhoney's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Violence