Reviews tagging 'Torture'

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

173 reviews

richardw2024's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.5

I enjoyed the book. It was a very YA fantasy and I found the elements quite superficial. There had to be a lot of world building to start, because it has four different worlds and that did mean that I found the book took a while to get going. I also found it quite hard to distinguish between the different London's. The concept and world building was interesting, as was the magic system, but I did find it all a little superficial. It was enjoyable enough but I think will be pretty forgetable.

The audio book significantly increased my enjoyment of this book, and Steven Crossley was a brilliant narrator.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, and Classism

gabi_715's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Kidnapping and Fire/Fire injury

abby_can_read's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

📖
I had fun reading this book. Overall, I would say it was fine. There was good worldbuilding and I liked the characters. I found parts of it confusing and I did struggle to stay interested at times and there were parts where I didn't really care what happening to the characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual assault, Torture, and Murder

Minor: Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment

prosenheim's review against another edition

adventurous 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Death, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

evarinya's review against another edition

I couldn't get into it. It felt like nothing happened until the 30% mark - or at least nothing that made sense -  at which point I was already so fed up with Kell's passiveness and Lila's arrogance that I don't see myself enjoying whatever else is going to happen.
Also, (attempted) sexual assault is a cheap thing to move the plot along, but I guess 2015 was a different time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Blood, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Torture

earth_to_dani's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

annie_tonk's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? No

5.0

Gorgeous writing. Reading this felt like watching a stopmotion video of  a puzzle assembling - a dark, magical, surreal, puzzle that left imprints in my mind. It was an imaginative masterpiece. I’m so enamored with this world that Schwab created and the dynamic characters that fill it. I love these characters! I want to be them and fight them and love them and scream at them! This world came to life for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

uselesspirateraven's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Grief

Minor: Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment

kauliflower's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence and Slavery

Minor: Misogyny, Sexual harassment, and Classism

kenzibir's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

Really enjoying the series and this author 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail