Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

6 reviews

necroplasm's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious 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

3.5

normally i quite enjoy grizzled sarcastic messy bitch detectives like harry dresden, but good LORD is this man constantly in need of a cold shower, it feels like for at least half the book every time a female character is in the scene he's using like,, the horniest descriptors he can use in a non-erotica novel, i nearly tapped out during his visit to that vampire woman's house because this guy is just TOO down bad. thankfully that stuff kinda slows down near the halfway point- at least it seemed like it did, maybe i was just getting used to it- and it wasn't as annoying to finish as i was afraid it would be. i'll check out the second book because i'm juuuuust interested enough in the setting to see where this could go, but GOD do i hope dresden starts being less of a horndog because i don't know if i can handle looking through his Womanizer Goggles for another book lmfao

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

jonwood's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

This was more entertaining than it had the right be. Honestly was thinking 3 stars, but have to admit compared to other books I’ve read recently it kept me reading past when I’d normally stop. Guess the best description I have is a guilty pleasure. 

Given the length of the series, this book seems structured as a tv pilot to introduce the world and status quo that I expect to be shaken later. I will say, some of the magic descriptions I found tedious when he seemed to described the science of it, I’d rather things just be given rules of what can and can’t happen, don’t ask me to think critically about fantastical things, I’d prefer to accept they happen and think about the story instead.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Addiction, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing, Death, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Alcohol

The main character can be seen to fit in the mold of noir hard-boiled detective, and comes equipment with the causal sexism that character type often entails.

cosmicquokka's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Gun violence and Toxic relationship

Minor: Addiction, Mental illness, and Alcohol

laurenleigh's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

I can’t believe this kind of genre mashup hasn’t been done more frequently! Storm Front is seemingly a typical detective novel: gritty noir vibes, CSI style procedural plot lines, big city mob bosses, a sexy reporter trying to get a lead, a gruff male investigator lead character…except our detective is also a wizard! I like when a magic theme has to play within some strict realism confines. This type of magic is all about the natural elements and concentrating energies. The potion-making scene was especially interesting, with bonus points for being hilarious. James Marsters (Spike from Buffy) narrates the audiobook, which is quite fitting. Buffy could totally exist within Butcher’s world here. I liked Marsters’ style, but the audio quality was dated, and I could hear too much of his breathing and sighing in the background, which definitely distracted me. Though the “please insert the next disk” voiceovers crack me up!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

jaedia's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury

linguisticfanatic's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Gore

Moderate: Sexual content and Toxic relationship

Minor: Domestic abuse