Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley

33 reviews

shmandy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

"...in my head, you're so pristine. I just wanted to not get anything on you." // "I think you're the same thing in three different lights."

If anyone needs I will be screaming about Nataha Pulley from the top of a lighthouse. This was action fuelled and jam packed with plot while also being character driven and slow to the point of the anticipation crawling in so carefully you didn't realize how invested you were in everyone until their lives were in mortal peril ( dozens of times).

Every character - even the short lived ones- are so well written that you can't help but immediately understand and feel for them.

I would lay my life on the line for Kite. Everyone needs a hug and about 900 days of rest.

The writing - in particular the way she writes the characters physically existing beside each other is so well done. I highly suggest going in with no understanding of what's going on and being okay with being confused for a bit - it's well worth it.

My first Natasha Pulley book and absolutely not my last - as soon as the mail arrives.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and War

cmaples's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Sexual assault

spacebornfew's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

There's something about Natasha Pulley's books that just breaks me every time. They contain these moments that elicit this indescribable feeling of safety and warmth and belonging that curls up in my gut and sits there for days afterwards. Those moments intersperse with heartbreak and remorse and questions about what makes us who we are... I'm going to have a hell of a hangover from this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Self harm, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, and Blood

Minor: Xenophobia

breadwitchery's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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, Gun violence, Violence, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Slavery, Xenophobia, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Cursing, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, and Alcohol

cocacolor's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.5

A brisk, clever time-traveling, alternate-dimension-hopping adventure. The characters are immediately likeable and memorable, although they don't have much interiority;

even after Joe/Jem regains all his memories, it's difficult to place his relationship with Kite in the context of his marriages to Alice / Madeleine, and what Agatha and Jem also felt for each other is a mystery

. Pulley's style is delightful, lyrical and lucid at the same time. It feels strange to be rooting for the British Navy, here buckling under French colonialism; on the one hand, a keen attention to historical detail is counterbalanced by the narrow scope of telling a story of British soldiers fighting French occupation with barely a mention of Britain's own empire. I'm still discontented with the way some threads are tied up:

When does Kite reckon with the consequences of killing a teenage boy? A freak change killing off Toby and Alice and dropping children into Kite and Joe's laps seems like a cop-out way to give them a nuclear family.

But overall, a thrilling tale with immediate, powerful characters that turns on the tropes of amnesia and the horrors of war.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Violence, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Murder, and Classism

Minor: Genocide and Alcohol

On rape:

though the narrative seems to acknowledge that the main character is forced into sex by his wife, it stops short of condemning her.

On racism:

The aforementioned wife is one of the only Black characters in the novel, and also killed off in order to give the white and white-passing main couple her children.

ruthjenkins's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gun violence, and War

Moderate: Rape and Violence

kerrymur's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, and Slavery

_rhea_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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: Slavery, Violence, and War

lilifane's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious 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

I'm not okay. I just couldn't stop crying for an hour straight while finishing the last 50 pages of the book. Had to take my glasses off because they were filling up with tears.

I did not expect this tbh. I couldn't remember how this book ended up on my TBR pile, and the only thing I did remember was that there was time travel involved in the plot. This is usually enough for me to be interested. But I was skeptical when I started reading because I didn't know what to think about the beginning. But when things stated.... moving, I fell in love with the setting and the atmosphere and the writing, and then I got attached to the characters and that was kind of too much for my poor little heart. It was shattering to pieces every few pages, and I was having one emotional breakdown after the other. And even though I guessed a lot of the mysteries early on, it made everything even more emotional. Plus, the ending kept me on my toes until the very last page, and this is something that doesn't happen often.

Be warned, though, this book is gruesome. It takes place during a war and all the horrors you can think of will be described in details. It was hard to read sometimes, but it made everything very believable and kept the stakes pretty high. (I like to pretend that one scene especially didn't happen, though. It was not the most bloody scene but a very much unnecessary one in my opinion.)

I will have to reread the book at some point knowing what I know now and also note down all those beautifully heartbreaking quotes. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

rebeccarudisill's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

This is not the kind of book I normally would give 5 stars. There’s a lot of things in here that I don’t usually enjoy - violence, suspense, danger to children. But it was just so compelling. I had to know what happened next! The plot was complex and surprising and somehow uplifting and funny despite all the horrible things happening. Screw your courage to the sticking place, and read this book!!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

This book is an incredibly tough read. Their are VIVID descriptions of war and the carnage that ensues. I had to take it very slowly. Be warned!