Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

30 reviews

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

---

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

allisonmspiers's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Death, Grief, Gore, and Death of parent

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, War, Classism, Confinement, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, and Genocide

Minor: Torture, Bullying, and Body horror

hannibanani29's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional slow-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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Gaslighting, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Kidnapping, Gore, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Medical content, Rape, Sexism, Alcohol, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, War, and Pregnancy

silver_lining_in_a_book's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-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

2.5

 

Fear and bravery are often one and the same. It either makes you a warrior or a coward. The only difference is the person it resides inside.

This book has problems - serious problems. I am not entirely sure how the questionable relationship at the heart of this book could have been given the Best Romance award for 2020, just as I am also not entirely sure why I read it, but here we are: people love this book and I've read it, just barely.

I cannot say that this book is bad in the slightest; it was entertaining, the world it was set in was complex and interesting, Poppy was a very likeable character, and (once we got through half of the book) we got a lot of action - plot-wise and otherwise. However, this is where my issues stem from. This romance was cringy at best and abusive and manipulative at worst. I really started to hate Poppy when her emotions oscillated between love and hate, loyalty and betrayal. After being so blatantly lied to and used, I would not put up with any boy, no matter how pretty his eyes were and how nice he smelled. I'm sorry if that isn't romantic.

I am also so over the abused yet strong main character in YA / New Adult fantasy novels. Having as much power and spirit as Poppy did would be near impossible in the abusive environment she was in and, if she truly was as powerful as the novel suggests, surely she would have stood up for herself sooner. In addition to that, who can forget about the whole pure Maiden side plot (yes, side plot because - let's be honest - the smut is the main plot)? I am not a fan; constant discussions of "naughty" acts, being "inappropriate" and just sexual relationships, in general, do not a fantasy novel make, though they certainly make the word count.

Now, I know that my mediocre experience is an anomaly here. If a dark, dystopian fantasy with a huge emphasis on romance, death and all your typical tropes (vampires, werewolves, a mysterious dark prince from another land, etc.) sounds like a good time for you, this book is worth a shot. Armentrout's writing is very readable due to its almost stream-of-consciousness quality with a sprinkling of very quotable lines throughout is nothing to complain about. I may give her other series a shot for this reason; I just hope there will be no mention of "honeydew", that was a choice. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Kidnapping, Grief, and Sexism

Minor: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Confinement

storykeeper_saga's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

1.5

 This story, for me, had an abundance of problems. It reads like a first draft and honestly, being that Armentrout has published so many books its unacceptable. Just the sheer amount of ellipsis is a problem.

The worldbuilding has a lot of potential but nothing is done with it. The premise sounds really exciting but it was utterly wasted. 

I will say, Armentrout can write an interesting story. I didn't want to stop reading, it just wasn't good. It also wasn't boring for me, at least. 

There's a lot of issues with this book, I will continue to at least the next one but I have very low expectations.

Poppy was not a well written character. The fact your main character is a religious figure but we know nothing about the religion is a problem. Especially with how some of the later reveals work with it. I know a lot of the plot twists in only a few chapters. That isn't a bad thing, I don't mind knowing plot twists because I like seeing how things happen. But it was very obvious Armentrout wanted to surprise her audience.

I hate Hawke. He is a terrible love interest. While I was reading I began having sudden memories of my ex who SAed me. It genuinely was hard to get through some parts.

If you enjoyed this book, I am glad. This is a small portion of my thoughts. If you would like to hear more I will be leaving a link to the review I will upload on YouTube next month 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Body shaming, Sexual harassment, and Sexism

emmerylynn's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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? No

4.25

This got me out of my longest reading slump (over a year). AND it introduced me to New Adult Fantasy (my current reading preference). There are some parts that made me cringe with the main character’s POV, but the fast-paced plot and the romantic interest made this a page turner. I love the world building in this one and the twist was so shocking! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexism, Gore, and Torture

kamross's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

4.5

I'm surprised to see a lot of terrible reviews on this - but given the fact that I read it in 4 days (and would have read it much sooner if I didn't have a job and a family 😂), it's safe to say that I really enjoyed it.

I looooove slow burn and descriptive writing. Really the only negative on this for me is that I could see the plot twist coming, but that wasn't a huge deal to me.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexism, War, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Violence, Body shaming, Child death, Grief, Sexual assault, Bullying, and Sexual content

Minor: Religious bigotry, Torture, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Stalking

ambers_booknook's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Blood, Death, Violence, and Sexism

midnacine's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

Re-reading this as an audiobook was such a delight! Stina Nielsen does an impeccable job bringing Poppy and Hawke to life. My only gripe is that there was some inconsistency with the voice choices of different characters, so it was sometimes hard to keep track of who was speaking at specific times. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Sexual content, Death, Violence, Murder, Cursing, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore, Body horror, Medical content, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent

Minor: Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexism, Fatphobia, Child death, Torture, War, Stalking, Body shaming, Classism, Domestic abuse, and Sexual violence

dubious consent about 75% through due to

Spoiler

Poppy not being fully aware of Hawke/Casteel's identity when she consented to having sex with him

kaylamoran's review against another edition

I hated the writing style.  I hated the romance.  I don't understand the world building.  This just absolutely did not work for me.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse

Minor: Death of parent, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, and Death