Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Blood Mercy by Vela Roth

6 reviews

steffandbooks's review

adventurous emotional inspiring tense slow-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

Oh this book was sooooooooo good! This is gonna be one of my new favorite series of all time.
I loved the take on vampires the author took with this world. While the book is very slow paced and not much plot wise actually happens in this first book, it was a beautiful take on the love that built between the two main characters. I love the historic take the author uses as language and the flirting was so sweet, funny and scandalous as the same time. The MMC is so sweet and so filthy at the same time, if you know what I mean 😏 I love how he had the patience to be Cassia’s friend first and earn her trust and then I loved how he challenged her and wanted her to feel save in her own skin and not be afraid.
The plot really unfolded towards the end and it had me on the edge of my seat. I didn’t mind that it was THAT slow paced because we got to know a great deal about many characters and I think the plot that unfolded in this book is only the beginning of a far greater scheme.
I need to dive right back into the second book cause I desperately need to know what happens!
Oh and if you wondered, the spice was immaculate in my opinion as well.
🌶️ 2.5 It wasn’t downright filthy but well described and even through those scenes you could see the characters grow with each other and built even more trust.
Love, love, love it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Sexual content, Murder, Racial slurs, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Hate crime, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Kidnapping and War

rileybeez's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

There are very few books that I would consider perfect. This story, though it is just beginning is rich and beautiful. The world that has been created is complex and thoughtful. I cannot sing this books praises enough. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood

booksarefriends_notfood's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

I had a hard time with the slow build in this book, the plot didn't really pick up until about the fifty to sixty percent mark. I am glad that I persevered and pushed on despite the extremely slow burn, by the end of it I couldn't put it down. The magic system is interesting and unique while not being overwhelming and the romance developed very slowly but realistically. I also enjoyed a different take on vampires and their culture in this book. Definitely, an enjoyable read if you can push through the hefty percentage of slow world-building and plot setup.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Blood, Misogyny, Death, Sexual content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Grief, Violence, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit

eatingbrains's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Oh boy..

So.  I would say that I liked this book.  The political intrigue aspect is interesting, the worldbuilding is a bit sparse and seems to rely on conventional setting stereotypes, the religious aspect is bizarre, and the magic systems are largely unexplained.

For the romance:  I initially enjoyed the pining, the obvious adoration, the soft boy, the timid girl with hidden strength, etc...  But then they hooked up and it became intolerable.  I cannot deal with the words used for penis and vagina.  Not the barbaric 'sword' and 'sheath' metaphor used in Tenebra nor the ones in the Hesperine language which I refuse to type out.  It literally sounds like the penis is a Pokémon and the image remains firmly stuck.  Beyond that, it also felt very juvenile in that they banged and then it was very insta-ride-or-die which was hugely out of character for the woman, if not also the man (in theory) especially considering that it largely takes place in the span of a month.

To be honest, my favorite character was the animal companion, Knight.

I am unsure if I will continue on to read the next book, but there's a good chance.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death of parent, Murder, Animal cruelty, Gore, Sexual assault, Blood, Child abuse, Self harm, Violence, Animal death, Infertility, Sexual content, Stalking, Torture, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Xenophobia, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, War, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Classism, Confinement, Misogyny, Sexism, and Emotional abuse

linguisticfanatic's review

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Minor: Domestic abuse

emmagrace's review

adventurous emotional slow-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

3.25

I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did. The first half was rough and needed another good round of editing, but the author really hit their stride at the half way point and I couldn't put it down after that. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Minor: Sexual assault