Reviews tagging 'Blood'

A Touch of Ruin by Scarlett St. Clair

25 reviews

whatkatyread87's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

This could’ve been an email

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Stalking

Minor: Suicide and War

nonotyoshi's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

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

4.0

Tandem reading this with a Game of Retribution is a must if you don’t wanna go insane 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content, Suicide, and Sexual harassment

ninahuynh's review against another edition

dark emotional funny medium-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

3.75

I like the dive into Apollo and his character arc, and Hermes. I like how Persephone has grown as a character and how her flaws make her that much more real. We could do with a sex scene or two less- there were times it felt like they use sex to solve their problem, never really communicating their sorrows/problem.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

rchulin1's review against another edition

dark emotional funny 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

nitecrtlvr's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

savage_book_review's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Persephone and Hades' relationship is now public knowledge, but her Divine existence remains hidden. Living in a lust-fuelled haze, can the Goddess of Spring reconcile her desire for the Lord of the Underworld with her dreams of a 'normal' life? And what happens when the Gods choose not to smile upon those she loves?

While I did enjoy the story of this one, I found there to be a lot points to unpack, none of which went into sufficient depth to have a real impact on me. The strongest thread of all is clearly the relationship between Hades and Persephone, but as with the last book there is a lot of bouncing between extremes of mood, miscommunication and a whole lot of bedroom shenanigans! The trouble is, after a while this does start to detract from the story. At one point Hades compares himself to a horny teenager, and I'd have to agree; everything seems to stir his loins! It's not badly written, but equally it does get a bit gratuitous and it ends up just not being as spicy as it should be for the sheer volume that there is. 

I think it's a shame that the stories of Leuce, Lexa and Sybil were all shoehorned into one book. They all feel a bit rushed, as do other plot points. When the resolutions come, they all happen very quickly and we just move on with the story. In this format it feels quite formulaic, and I wonder whether it might have been better to extend the series and have focused on one friend per book, or stretched the tension out over multiple books so that there could be more character and story development. 

Apollo is probably the biggest let down for me - from an a-hole to an ally in essentially one conversation, I felt this completely let down the incredibly good rivalry and potential future threat that the author was building in. 

That being said, I do like Persephone's gradual acceptance of her role as Queen of the Underworld, and her slow discovery of some of Hades' secrets and his life before her. And Hades is just a babe - he might be awful at communicating and have no idea how to be in a co-dependent relationship, but it's the mix of his 'touch her and die' attitude with his 'I'm so in love I can't think straight' vulnerability that makes him the most well rounded and fleshed out character of the series. 

Looking forward to Hades' POV on this one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape, Suicide, and Murder

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

scarlett_f's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-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

3.0

<Disappointing writing. Choppy sentences. Often rushed. It quickly became boring. Persephone would screw up, get mad at Hades, distance herself, then make up with him again.  And the sex/make-up sex became boring pretty quickly. Seemed like every other page was another sex scene, overdone and typical. 
Poorly wrapped up problem with a stalker. Done in less than five minutes, then back to poorly written sex scenes. The first book in the series was better. Very disappointed in the rushed writing. Going to read book three for grins and giggles, hoping it will be better.>

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use and Mental illness

Minor: Car accident

hi_im_tate's review against another edition

funny hopeful 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

3.5

I had to deduct a star because *fuck* Persephone is so much like a college freshman. You can tell this is her first relationship. But that's what makes it so juicy. 

There is just so much to this book that I wouldn't have expected. Everything with Apollo (almost cried during his scene with his lover), meeting Leuce and learning more about her, the abduction, the proposal (s), the ending. It all intertwined beautifully for me. There were several times when I had to pull away from this book because it was just *so god damn good*. The love and passion Hades and Persephone share really, really touches my heart.

The author's note mentions learning more about Hades' life in the Upperworld and what he does. I am very excited for this because I just want to slurp up every piece of lore I can get about Hades. He loves so beautifully and fiercely, and I *need* to know what makes him tick.

There are some very prominent characters we have yet to meet. Where does Zeus stand in all of this? Poseidon? What's going on with Aphrodite? So many questions, so few answers.

Please make sure to read content warnings for this book. It'll make it easier.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Confinement, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Suicide attempt, Murder, and War

beckyremillard's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Murder