Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

A Dawn of Onyx by Kate Golden

15 reviews

clairebartholomew549's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

This is an incredibly typical fantasy romance, and I ate it up as I am wont to do. I wouldn't say this is anything original - plucky heroine who has secret powers she doesn't understand the import of, love interest who appears evil at first and turns out to be morally complicated at worst, world-building that honestly makes no sense and smashes too many tropes together (this series honestly seems like one of the worst offenders of this so far, to be honest, and I am simply not okay with the kingdoms being named after gems, lol), but it certainly scratches an itch and is satisfying enough. This book executes a tried-and-true formula to a tea, and I loved it and of course will be reading the rest of the series.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

doahdancer's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

Light reading with an enjoyable enough plot and characters. Nothing remarkable here, good or bad.

Writing was a bit stilted and characters were underdeveloped but perfect if you're looking for something casual that won't cause too much stress.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

ladybug12793's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, and Violence

FMC has “close calls” for grape but never happens.

chellekjones's review against another edition

This was a recommend book via booktok. While reading I had oddest feeling that there were words on the page but that they had no depth. Like it was a written under compulsion. 

I couldn't get into it and decided between that and the flimsy FMC (seemingly loved her home and also hated it? no backbone, easily duped) it wasn't worth it for me to continue. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

jackiepreston's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-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? No

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Torture and War

meg_read's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Sexual assault

kristannereads's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Physical abuse

memoirsofabooklover's review against another edition

adventurous funny 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? No

4.75

i loved this book. the world building sucked me in but wasn’t too complex as to leave me confused for the first half of the book. really interesting layers of unanswered questions throughout. i loved the mcs and their banter and all the twists (many i saw coning but still loved them). the tension was brilliant

(albeit slightly annoying as there was no release in the book) but it should make the eventual completion of a spice scene very rewarding.

i loved the beauty of the world, as well as the integrated mythology. thoroughly enjoyed, but not sure what i’m supposed to do with myself now whilst i wait for the next book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Sexual content, Medical content, Kidnapping, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Rape, Torture, Vomit, and Alcohol

natashaleighton_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

A fast paced and deliciously addictive, NA Fantasy that I genuinely couldn’t get enough of!  It follows Arwen who (in order to save her reckless brother’s life) finds herself taken prisoner by the vicious Onyx king (who’s currently at war with her homeland) and forced to use her magical abilities to heal his subjects and soldiers.

Trying to escape is futile on her own but, with help from a fellow prisoner she might just make it out alive—if she can survive his infuriating personality and twisted sense of humour that is! But, with back-stabbing royals, dark magic, and sinister beasts to contend with, trusting this mysterious stranger is the least of her worries…

As you might already know, I’m a huge fan of anything enemies to lovers based so I was super excited to delve straight into this and, thankfully it didn’t disappoint! 

The epic, fantasy world-building was quite detailed with a magic system I found incredibly intriguing. Not to mention the phenomenally intense, slow-burn romance we see unfold between Arwen and the sinfully charismatic Kane—which I relished every second of! 

Their banter and flirtatious interactions were really good and reminded me a little of Poppy and Casteel‘s dynamics in From Blood and Ash. 

The character development was also really well done. I absolutely adored protagonist, Arwen whose loving, self sacrificing nature has landed her in a pretty bad situation she has almost no way out of. But the determination and optimism she manages to hold on to, even during her own complex bouts of powerlessness. Not to mention the emotional divide between loyalty and love—both her her family and homeland, and her growing feelings for Kane, a man that many would consider her enemy. 

Kane, likewise, has a lot of extremely difficult decisions to make—both in relation to his feelings for Arwen and his own sense of duty and loyalty to his people. I was genuinely impressed with the level of emotional detail we get throughout Kane’s character arc, despite never getting any chapters from his perspective—I’m not often endeared to a character (especially one as morally ambiguous as Kane is) without experiencing their POV, but Kate Golden really had me rooting for him. 

I also found myself rooting for some of the supporting characters (particularly Mari and Dagan) and the almost wholesome, found family dynamics they have with Arwen. It’s definitely something I look forward to seeing more of. I’m also hoping Mari gets more scenes with Griffin because their chemistry was palpable. 

Overall, an action packed page turner of a debut though like I said previously, is a bit of a slow-burn when it comes to the romance. So,if you’re looking for something a little more Instant in the romance department this may not be the book for you—but if (like me) you relish some good, old fashioned angst and romantic tension then, I definitely recommend checking this out. 

I also want to say a huge thank you to the author Kate Golden for the e-copy. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent

Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Chronic illness and Gore

readswithcat's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Medical content, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape