Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Master of Salt & Bones by Keri Lake

11 reviews

doahdancer's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

3.75

I read Nocticadia first and found this one to be disappointing in comparison.

This book suffered from slowness in the upfront build, but it did have a good payoff. My first critique is some of the reveals were obvious, despite their resolutions being quite satisfying.

Overall, I was surprised at how gruesome this one was and I'm not sure I'm content with the write-off on the MMCs involvement in some of the darker elements that were introduced. Not sure there was a better way forward without overpowering his character further, but at least the FMC's acceptance of his reasons for staying involved needed to be developed more.

I loved the gothic feel and the mystery that wound its way around their fated romance. If you can handle some loose ends remaining at the end, this is a great choice for someone craving a dark, romantic mystery/thriller.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Rape

chanelreads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, and Suicide attempt

that_casshole's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

Please heed the content warnings. It was very predictable and followed the typical dark romance plot lines. Which is fine IF you have a good plot. The idea for the plot was there, but it was horribly predictable. I guessed about 95% of the “big reveals” about a quarter into the book. The spicy scenes got boring fast. If you’ve got some time, it’s a fine read, but if your tbr looks like mine, wait on this one. I definitely had to make myself keep reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, and Stalking

Minor: Gaslighting

bo_okish's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

5.0

This book is a wild ride. Not only do you go through every emotion while reading but it made me have to stop and walk away just to process what I read. The writing was done well, the characters and story line are phenomenal. I highly recommend but also not for the faint of heart. There are multiple triggers in this book so please look into them before diving in

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

ewindtberg's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I really enjoyed this book. The gothic romance style in which it was written (with a beauty and the beast/phantom of the opera feel), the spice was on point, even when the MCs made dumb decisions sometimes you still connected with them and felt for them, and there were twists and turns that I didn’t expect (and some that I did). All in all this was a great read and I liked it so much I made my bookclub read it for October lol also, the way it ends leaves it open to a possible second book with I hope the author strongly considers as some things were left as lose ends. I would LOVE for this to be a duology.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

aklovekorn's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

kat1105's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

renaaa_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.75

before you read this book just know it has EVERY trigger warning possible. It is a dual POV & has multiple timelines also. If any of these things bother you, don't read the book..
I didn't really get the emotional connection between the characters, especially with the huge age difference (which normally doesnt bother me, except the FMC had just graduated high school) besides the convenience that they lived/worked in the same house.
However, the plot of the book was so out there with all the family drama that I had to finish it to know what happened. Once you thought you knew someone, there'd be a huge plot twist. 
Overall, the book was very well written and was different from anything else I've read before. Think of it like a very, very, very dark beauty and the beast.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, and Murder

sam019's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

3.75

Didn't love the writing, never clicked for whatever reason. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

ploomerika's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail