Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos

38 reviews

zimmerlemon's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

3.75

I LOVED this at the beginning. The premise is sooo cool, the setting of Anima and Ophelia’s “reading” and the museum, the concept of the arks….so scrumptious. I was down with Thorn, I love a prickly love interest. It didn’t so much lose me in the middle as just go a direction I wasn’t expecting, but if you like court intrigue, you’ll be fine! The relationship between Thorn and Ophelia

didn’t develop in the way I expected, and the jump to where she thinks he’s in love with her kinda caught me off guard. They hadn’t been together in months, what did he have to fall in love with?? But I like the stage we’ve set now for a bit of enemies to lovers type of vibe.

Like a sci-fi pride and prejudice/bridgerton moment. I’m hoping the next books are good bc the end of this one roped me back in!!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

itsreirei's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I am soooo conflicted. I cannot in good conscience give this book a better rating...I REALLY wanted to like it but uhh...my brain was melting while reading it. 

This is an extremely slow start to the series, lots of information yet there's somehow even more things left unsaid and unclear. The characters are all two-faced and full of secrets, refuse to communicate - which wouldn't necessarily be a problem but it was just a lot, since it's not what I expected at all. 

This is a very heavy book to read (tbh, could've been a good 100+ pages shorter), NOT a fun ride, one has to put time and brain power into consuming it. 

I'll have to wait with continuing the sequels but also I am admittedly very intrigued to know what the fuck is happening because BOY was there a lot in here...

PS.: I ain't joking with the CWs, I might even have left out some, bruh

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

snickahz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Violence

Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, and Police brutality

Minor: Incest and Sexual harassment

chaptertraveller's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this read! It's so whimsical in both setting and prose whilst also capturing you with the plot and mysteries taking place. Ophelia is a relatable loveable main character who I felt I really understood her by experiencing this world through her eyes. The imagery and imagination used in this book enraptured mine and I wish I could see it in reality. It was a little bit slow to get through hence the 4 stars, but enjoyable nonetheless. Looking forward to seeing Ophelia and Thorns journey continue!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, and Infertility

Minor: Suicide

hue's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

Utterly baffled.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, and Violence

chloenrogers's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.0

Whimsical fantasy with a side of tense forced marriage. I found the pacing to be slow in parts and wished we had more interactions with our main couple, but the writing was delightful and I can tell we’re gearing up for something much bigger 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Child abuse and Emotional abuse

clight's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Violence

joisaddler's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Violence, and Classism

heoleen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape

royalraspberry's review against another edition

mysterious

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

3.5

This is a really interesting one because I think it's really outside the wheelhouse of what I normally read - I picked it up for a reading challenge because someone had it listed under "book about your favorite season, winter" and that gets a hard disagree from me, but I did put it under "book with a misleading title". 

The writing in this book was absolutely lovely. That said it is 50% world building and 50% political intrigue.  And the world building was absolutely spectacular, I really enjoyed all of it. Dabos has created an incredibly interesting world filled with interesting characters (none of whom are trustworthy, but that's part of the fun). But there was just so *little* plot in the book that I really, really struggled. 

If you're into fantasy books heavy on character development and world building, this is absolutely the right book for you. It's well written and the narrator for the audio book is completely enchanting to listen to, she brings the rich, beautiful world into a new depth. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Blood, Police brutality, and Murder