Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

15 reviews

brynalexa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense 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? No

5.0

I didn’t know a book SO long could be SO fast-paced. I was in love with the characters from the start and got my heart broken and put back together countless times. I love the depth of the history in names of people/places and how the author demonstrates changes in people, places, culture, and languages over time.  I love a book with gay characters in which the trauma has nothing to do with their sexuality. The interview at the end of the audiobook was definitely with the listen. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Infertility and Cannibalism

gracewiley's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

donatio's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective slow-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

4.75

I had high expectations for this book after Priory and it did not disappoint.
The characters and the world were well-fleshed-out, I came to care about them deeply. There were no plot holes and it set up Priory nicely. 
The writing was beautiful, I only found that it was quite slow for me but towards the end it got better. 
Representation of everyone (gender-equality, POC, LGBTQ, etc.) was there, just like it ought to be. 
I loved the themes, motherhood, religion and duty, and how they were explored. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Animal death

Minor: Cancer, Drug use, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, and Alcohol

alexalily's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Suicide, Vomit, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Alcohol

careinthelibrary's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Complex and epic, stretching across so much geography and individual experiences, this is a worthy follow-up to <i>The Priory of the Orange Tree</i>. It manages to feel familiar to fans of the series without feeling like it's relying on the success of the first one to succeed itself. It stands on its own feet and feels independent but welcoming to returning fans.

This is more politically intricate than the previous tome from Samantha Shannon. I didn't personally prefer this much politics in my fantasy, but I know lots of people who enjoy political machinations and intrigue in their high fantasy so I'm sure it'll be popular for that reason. There's a lot more time spent discussing various kingdoms' relationships with one another and marriage features a lot more in this (at least to my memory of what <i>Priory</i> was like). But don't fret, there's also plenty of action and darkness.

The dragon content doesn't disappoint. It feels like it's scraped from the depths of a volcano with how intimidating and ancient they feel. We get lots of conflict with dragons in this which is satisfying because <i>Priory</i> never felt like quite enough. Samantha Shannon is generous with the drama in this book.

Women and women's love are at the core of this novel. Romantic love, parental love, sisterly love. This puts a spotlight on these kinds of relationships and over the course of the novel, they grow and change. They betray one another, they uplift one another, they love each other, they defend each other. It's great. There were some characters I felt more attached to and whose plotlines entertained me more while others were lesser favoured. Glorian was my favourite but I liked aspects of all them.

All in all, I don't think this will disappoint fans. Depending on your personal preferences, you may like this a little more or a little less than the previous, but most importantly, it's its own story with a fresh take on the world. It doesn't live in the shadow of the predecessor but right alongside that legend.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Infidelity, and Suicide

Minor: Alcohol

Forced pregnancy, young pregnancy