Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

City of Nightmares by Rebecca Schaeffer

8 reviews

winifara's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

1.0

I hate it when authors can't keep their political and religious views out of their FANTASY books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

khakipantsofsex's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Trafficking

theycallmebookish's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-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

4.0

The description compares this book to Gotham and that is so accurate. Gotham City is already trippy but this book is like Gotham on a slight acid trip. WHICH IS AMAZING! This is a unique story in which we turn into our worse nightmares if we dream. And Ness gets caught in the middle of a a corrupt scheme while figuring out how to deal with her fears of turning into a nightmare. This book is extremely unique, which is rare in books these days. It’s a fast paced story that keeps you hooked. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, and Death of parent

mattiedancer's review

adventurous fast-paced

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

3.75

Writing: 3⭐️/5 

The writing was substantial, but not remarkable. It got the job done and didn’t get in the way of the storytelling, but it wasn’t the strongest part of my read. However, I do believe that the potential for stronger writing could be seen – little kernels of it, if you will – and so I look forward to future books by Schaeffer.

Characters: 3.75⭐️/5

I’m torn here because while the characters definitely pushed the story forward in areas, they also held it back in others. I wanted a bit more from the characters that wasn’t so focused on shock value. I mean, I love that the characters are vibrant and unique, but I wanted to know them deeper and more personally than that.

Plot: 4.25⭐️/5 

Okay, so here’s why you should pick up this book: it’s a brilliant concept. I loved learning about the world and how unique the characters had to become in order to survive. I loved the worldbuilding, the substance of the story, and the driving force behind the characters. While certain moments were predictable, the world in which they were happening never was, which made old tropes feel gorgeous and fresh. I personally can’t wait for the next book, despite wanting more from this one. In a way, I think I may be grading it harder because I expect so much next time.

Who Should Read This Book? 

• Those looking for a unique fantasy read
• Those who love unconventional worlds
• Fans of enemies to lovers
• Young adult readers who want a memorable world

Content Warnings? 

• Death, murder, violence, blood, grief, injury, fire, confinement, toxic relationships, 

Post-Reading Rating:  4.5⭐️/5

Very fun. Will read the next one.

Final Rating: 3.75⭐️/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body horror, Trafficking, and Car accident

theblerdnewsletter's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Classism

prikaboo's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Trafficking, and Murder

Minor: Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

frantically's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

4.75

Schaeffer manages what so many YA authors before her have tried and failed to do: How do you make the loser kid without powers or training into the main character who's supposed to save the world? Easy, they're not going to save the world.

There's so many characters in this book who would've been better suited as a YA-saviour, there's Ness' best friend, Priya, whose biggest dream is fighting the Nightmares or the charming vampire Cy, who Ness is starting to like more and more. But we're stuck with Ness — and it's great!

It was so fun seeing her work around trying to do everything on her own. She makes other people work for her, put her info out into the world without risking too much herself. She's isolated, doesn't want anymore friends than she already has and where there's danger, she's already running away from it.

What I also loved was that all this "not like other people" business didn't at all turn into "not like other girls", which we often see with FMCs.

The world Schaeffer has creted is intriguing and offers enough potential for so many more books. The Nightmares, how they are created and why, all gets more and more mysterious and I'm so ready to see where this story takes us next!

The only thing that I didn't really like was the "explanation" that all nightmares retain their minds because that's a lot of murderous people running around and I just can't believe that all people who turn into non-humans want to go on killing sprees. Or maybe I'm just as naive as Ness 😉

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Trafficking and Alcohol

goldkatze's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, and Alcohol

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail