Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski

18 reviews

bewkgummywerm's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Transphobia, and Violence

valerian_honeybee's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse

hue's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

The backside text hardly does any justice to the story within. Marie Rutkoski has woven an intricate, fantastically drab world where injustice is hideously clear yet accepted. 

I adored the characters, the differences between High Kith and Half-Kith and Middlings, the writing was lucious and lurid, the telling captivatingly vivid. 

Nirrim was such a pleasure to follow as she wandered through her thoughts and actions, disassembling all that she had grown up believing, never realising how twisted and unfair it all had been. 

If you enjoyed this wonderful story, I recommend two other books that gave me the same feeling as this did.
1. The City of Woven Streets by Emmi Itäranta
2. Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Gaslighting

huonekasvis's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Toxic relationship

Minor: Body horror, Violence, and Grief

strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.0

The beginning wasn’t very interesting but then the middle got better. I was getting excited to read the second one until the very last line. That last line made me so very angry, however I still need to read the second book to see what happens with said last line. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

Moderate: Body horror and Sexual content

Minor: Child abuse

electrumempousa's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

I really wanted to love this, it’s such an interesting premise and Nirrim as a character was so interesting to me, but there’s just something missing that I can’t quite put my finger on. I think it’s the easy acceptance Nirrim has of the High Kith. It’s also not very well paced, the ending seemed to come all in a deluge but the rest was sort of meandering. I bought the sequel just to see if that helps. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Sexual assault, and Violence

nicnevin's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

So this is the first book I've read from this author and its... Alright? I found the ending quite... Abrupt and the worldbuilding is a little slapdash however I realise that this is already set in a world from other books she wrote. 

Sid and Nirrim are a cute couple but I don't know how it ends. I guess leaving the book on such an abrupt ending ticked me off because it felt like a lot of build up for not much pay off bit I suppose that's why is more than one book. 

the magic blood reveal was pretty obvious so it annoyed me it took everyone so long to figure it out. Also shouldnt diluted blood be a yellowy orange colour? Maybe magic blood hits different idk

Don't get me wrong, the book is okay but just didn't gel with me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

uraveragelesbianreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

I would give this book more stars if I could. Although I do not consider myself particularly vulnerable to tiktok marketing I will admit tiktok made me read this book and for once I would like to thank them for it. The writing of this book is wonderful and its prose keeps your interest and leaves you putting together the pieces at the same speed as our main character, leading to an engaging experience. On the note of the main character, Nirrim as a main character is a wonderful decision. Her development feels slow and steady but is not necessarily linear. She struggles, she progresses and she regresses as she finds her morals and values in a confusing world. Every element of the plot is wonderfully discovered and although not all the plotwists are gasp-inducing ones they all feel earned and powerful to the plot. I will not spoil anything but the ending is just wonderful and so so beautifully well earned. The ending felt like the final note of a wonderful song and if I do not get my hands on the second book as fast as possible I will not know what to do with myself. The main romance of this book was just spectacular. It didnt feel contrived or like it was forced into a plot that did not really need romance, this book NEEDED its romance subplot and it is used expertly to enhance the plot. I have to say Sid and Nirrim are most definitely in my top 3 sapphic book couples of all time. To give you an idea of just how good it is, I annotate my books with pink flags to denote romantic scenes, I went through at least 1/4 of my pink flags in this book alone. The way this book uses its fantasy setting to touch upon real issues in society was done expertly and although it is not technically a dystopia the parallels are quite clear. I would recommend this book to just about anyone but specifically; those who enjoy HEAVY romance subplots, those who enjoy mystery books and are looking to reach out and people who think reading about lesbians uncovering secrets of the past sounds fun.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, and Classism

Moderate: Lesbophobia and War

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Sexual content, Violence, Police brutality, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

haylzno's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring tense slow-paced

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

2.75

This was almost a DNF for me. 
The plot really seemed to... stall, like a bunch of times. I found myself getting bored frequently. 
I did listen to this as an audiobook and narration is really a make it break thing for me and I wasn't a huge fan of the narration, so honestly that played a big part. 

I always love me so good queer rep. But the MC and her relationship with her "mother" made me irrationally frustrated. By the time I decided I wanted to DNF I was only about an hour from finishing it so I pushed through, and honestly I don't remember a whole lot because I just couldn't make myself care. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Classism

Moderate: Drug use and Homophobia