Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

14 reviews

aweso10's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

leigh bardugo is SUCH A QUEEN. i liked this more than six of crows just by a bit- i liked a bit of romance added, the world building and character development was phenomenal as always- i found myself rooting for Alina and Mal the whole way through but at the same time the Darkling is such a sexy forbidden fruit type of character i love it ahaha. definitely satisfied my recent fantasy itch.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Sexual violence

hjb_128's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, and War

Minor: Sexual violence

yasidiaz's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.5

When Alina Starkov unleashes a dormant power she is taken to train among the Grisha, the powerful elite army of Ravka. Longing for a place to belong and overwhelmed with the feeling of being Ravka’s last flick of hope, she gives it her all. However, she soon finds out the court is not what it seems and she must be careful who she trusts.

It has been a long time since I have read a YA fantasy like this. I’m surprised it took me so long to read this because this genre was my thing back when I was 15 and 16. Now my tastes have shifted significantly. I focus now more on romance, specifically queer romance, so being fully honest, I worried if I still enjoyed this genre. And as it turns out, I still very much do.

The amount of effort put into worldbuilding made me realize how much I missed a good fantasy book. I loved all the little details, the differences between different areas of Ravka, and the political complexities of the court and the Grisha (although I hope to get more of that in the next book). 

The Darkling was also a very interesting character and I liked how the book kept you on your toes with his character. In contrast, I found it so easy to trust Mal. From the moment he first appeared he became my boy and wanted to give him everything.

Alina was a great protagonist as well. I love when characters are flawed and you see them grow as the story progresses. However, I do hope in the next and other books her powers and strength go beyond her love for Mal.

This was a good book to get back into the high fantasy genre and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Misogyny

Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual harassment

noras_library's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book made me feel more than any book has made me feel in a long time. The idea of the book is amazing and the execution is perfect. I loved the writing style.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Sexual content

casdelvo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Sexual violence and Suicidal thoughts

themiscyra_anna's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War

Moderate: Confinement, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, and Torture

Minor: Child death and Rape

zoecrepp's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual violence

Minor: Sexual harassment

In this book sexual harassment, SA and attempted SA all occur. The first is mentioned by the reader who states that her best friend’s friend tried to “paw at her”. Additionally, a woman discusses the ongoing sexual abuse she has faced/is facing from an authority figure. Also, the main character is attacked by a man but she is able to get away before he assaults her. Lastly, the main character is “seduced” or manipulated by a different authority figure…she is interested in him at first but is then angry at him once she realizes he is evil. After this revelation he still kisses her which makes her incredibly uncomfortable though she doesn’t reject him in that moment.

diem's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

3.75

fast&fun
could be more in depth with the interpersonal relationships
Should have read it before I watched the show though

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and War

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

luluslittlelibrary's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I have very mixed feelings about this series. I love the world it's set in and most of the plot (specifically the first book), but the characters just fall short. They are all very one-sided and are difficult to connect to... except for Nikolai. I absolutely adore Nikolai. He was such a necessary part of the second book because parts of it were so painfully slow and he was the only reason I was interested in reading it. The third book was very good plot-wise as well. And there was a lot more going on than there was in the second book. But (spoiler) I really didn't like the way it ended.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

erovelo's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, and Alcohol

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment