Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

The Fae Keeper by H.E. Edgmon

9 reviews

biggaywave's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring 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

4.75

A thoughtful commentary on such societal issues as transphobia, colonialism, and white supremacy, the Fae Keeper keeps the pace of its predecessor, moving from big moment to the next. Ultimately the climax is surprising and haunting. The battles from the first book are not made light of, and are dealt with careful consideration.  Adventurous, while not making war seem glorious, and simultaneously makes fights for social issues worthy. The characters are witty, diverse, and their relationships grow more complex. Overall a fun read, while at times dark and gruesome. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Violence, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and War

karcitis's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Vomit, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, and Dysphoria

osladek's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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

3.5

I enjoyed this book and wanted to read it since I thought The Witch King had themes and characters I liked. However, I went into it knowing I would have issue with the plot since the first book had way too much going on plot wise and was wrapped up messily in my opinion. I really disliked the main character in the first book due to the self-deprecating humor, and overall annoyance i felt at his actions and attitudes throughout the book. I think this book improved Wyatt in so many ways. I enjoyed seeing him learn to use his magic and actually apologize to characters and grow from his mistakes. 
As a series I think this duology suffers from way too many plots and characters and introducing an entire new WORLD over 60% into the second and final installment. How in the world are we supposed to get an idea of what the world is like when we get max 3 chapters about it? I think if the author committed to their idea for the books this could've been expanded into a series or at least trilogy to get a full idea of all the characters, worlds, and plots they wanted to work with. Both books feel rushed in plot, character development, and world-building. I much prefer books that show without telling exactly what the world is like. With Faery we are plunged into a new world immediately and given very little information about it except for the main character to just explain what they're seeing. Feels sloppy and rushed writing to me and I think if the author only wanted two books for this series, they should've trimmed down the plots, characters, and left the world of Faery out of it for continuity and proper context and flow for the books.
I did enjoy this book a lot more than the first and I do like the characters so much better in this book so overall 3.5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual assault, and Dysphoria

pagesofnay's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Cannibalism, Dysphoria, and War

Minor: Animal cruelty, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, and Religious bigotry

bookwormbi's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

okay go off kings (or I guess not, since "kingdom" isn't really the right word for Asalin in these books.) truly Edgmon took these books and created such an expansive, beautiful, interesting fantasy concept. literally never reading fantasy that doesn't take structural inequity into account again this is so much better. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Blood

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and War

the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition

adventurous funny medium-paced

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

4.75

I love the world created in the Witch King duology, and this book continues to explore it in an exciting way. The plot kept me super engaged, and I continue to adore all the characters. It was a great continuation of the first book in many ways!

The book lost 0.25 stars, because some elements of the plot (like Emyr and Wyatt's relationship, and the addition of the changelings) felt unecessarily complicated and caused the plot feel slow-moving at times.

The inclusion of sexual violence against Tessa was completely unnecessary, and I am really disappointed in the author for featuring it. It didn't add to the plot in any meaningful way short of showing how evil Clarke is (which was not needed - we already knew that when she killed her brother and ate his heart). Tessa just becomes collateral damage to show how depraved someone else is, and the author deliberately chooses to never even examine the harm that it causes her. For such an otherwise progressive read, I felt a little betrayed by this careless inclusion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Dysphoria, and War

Moderate: Genocide

Minor: Racism

caidyn's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

I think one of my favorite things about this book is that the MC is flawed and owns up to it. Not to mention the examination of levels of privilege and how some things trump others. You might be oppressed in some ways but you're privileged in others. I enjoyed this sequel/conclusion!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Abandonment, and Dysphoria

puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Genocide, Terminal illness, and Cannibalism

Minor: Animal cruelty and Dysphoria

perpetualpages's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-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

5.0

CWs: murder and violence; some gore and body horror; on-page descriptions of panic attacks and dissociation; graphic discussions of infanticide and cannibalism; off-page instances of rape and assault; discussions of childhood sexual abuse; some animal death; explorations of dysphoria, racism, and transphobia; and some fade-to-black sexual content

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Transphobia, and Dysphoria

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Cannibalism