Reviews tagging 'War'

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

56 reviews

jadeilona_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, Violence, War, Death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death of parent, Abandonment, and Body shaming

sparkleslily's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: War

Minor: Death and Death of parent

dalenora's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? No

3.0

I really did not enjoy the resolution of this book. As many have covered the plot was very predictable, and I could have told you exactly what all the reveals would be within the first 100 pages. I also found it to be very poorly written, to an almost annoying extent. I don’t tend to expect much of my smutty fantasy novels, I tend to think of them kind of like reality tv where my expectations are pretty low for the prose/plot, but this one somehow set the bar even lower than it had been. 

Spoiler

while I was kind of into the way the book explored organized religion and how harmful it can be when it’s used as a mechanism of control, I found the emphasis placed on the main characters virginity/purity to be incredibly uncomfortable, and it undermined any social commentary the book might have had. The way the male main character had what amounted to a fetish for her “purity” just really gave me the ick. I also really took issue with the end of the book and “Hawk’s” behavior. I had been anticipating some conflict when she finally found out the truth, expecting it to follow the same kind of trope where once she understands his motives she is able to forgive him, but with this book I found his behavior totally unacceptable. He didn’t even seem remorseful for hurting her as deeply as he had, and it seemed like he was almost gleeful to be completely shattering her reality. For how much the book focused on the way agency had been taken away from her, and the way Cas himself went out of his way to deconstruct her captivity and make her realize she deserved freedom, it was shocking to me that he turned around and inflicted the exact same trauma on her. He touched her without her consent, refused to listen when she said no, and completely tormented her. It’s just something I cannot excuse or get behind, and as far as I’m concerned he is the villain of the novel for that behavior. I have a feeling they’re going to completely overlook that abuse in future books in favor of continuing the romance, and I just cannot get behind a male love interest who treats the female mc like that. He was totally irredeemable whether they have “chemistry” or not. 

 

I guess despite not really loving this book I was still incredibly protective of the Poppy, so I was still into it to some extent. I just don’t really want that kind of abuse in my fantasy novels, it’s not my cup of tea. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, War, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

cassie_heintz's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book made me feel like I was reading ACOTAR again in a way. Some of the main characters had a good amount of depth too them but wished I got more from others. It has a few plot twists that made me confused as to where the plot was gonna go but still really enjoyed it. Still upset that one of my favorite characters died but it’s ok, I’ll survive 🥲

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Blood, Classism, Death, Grief, Gaslighting, Murder, and Physical abuse

Minor: War and Rape

nicole222222's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Sexual harassment

cait's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Gore, Medical content, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Murder, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Ableism, Sexual assault, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Torture, War, Child abuse, Child death, and Slavery

yera's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted 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? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Blood

Moderate: Death, Violence, and War

wiley_coyote5's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Torture, Toxic friendship, War, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol and Self harm

The relationship in this book is the classic possessive, 'touch her and you die' that is sexy in books and terrible IRL. The main character is abused physically and emotionally

dancingdragon's review against another edition

emotional mysterious relaxing fast-paced

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

3.75

I was looking for a more mature fantasy series. This leaned more young adult than had been explained to me in the book store, so some of the writing was a bit less challenging than I’d have hoped for. However, the fast pace, plot twists, and sexy interactions I wasn’t expecting seemed to pull me in, despite wanting not to like it early on. A third of the way into the novel it picked up and I couldn’t put it down. It was seductive and full of symbolism. The mystery of the plot and cliffhanger end left me anxious to read on in the series…plus it’s hot! Perfect for a summer reader. I’ll read the next one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual assault, Torture, and War

poppybos109's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Blood, Death, War, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Gore, and Grief