Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories, by Holly Black
12 reviews
eire2011's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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 really enjoyed reading this and was interesting to a bit more insight into how Cardan became the Fairy that he is. The artwork was beautiful and I found it all very enchanting!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Violence, and Emotional abuse
vaguely_pink's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Violence, Bullying, Abandonment, Infidelity, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Slavery
leonormsousa's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Gaslighting
nicheinterests's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism
taryn_g's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Physical abuse and Child abuse
tsar's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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
5.0
“Having a heart is terrible, but you need one anyway.”
Disregarding the massive popularity that it holds, The Folk of the Air is unfortunately not the faerie-centric fantasy series that places itself in my favor. I would say that the plot is intriguing, revolving around manipulation after manipulation and the love-hate relationship between the main characters, but its execution looks clumsy most of the time that it fails to reach the complexity to articulate a self-vengeance and power-seizing attempt motivated by years of prejudiced and vindictive treatment for being humans and half-humans in a pure faerie society.
One of those spiteful characters is the main character himself; Cardan Greenbriar, the spoiled, silver-spooned princeling who intends to make the protagonist Jude Duarte's life a living hell due to her human heritage. He serves as an adversary to her quest for power as well as the main love interest that she initially tries hard to deny—most of all, he becomes a pawn that she uses for her goal without his awareness, subjecting himself to the 'I can fix him' element as soon as he agrees for a truce with her.
As the main trilogy falls flat in capturing the intricate characterization of Jude beyond her long-time animosity against the fae court, the recent release of the series' novella happens to be the opposite of it in terms of message, purpose, and illustrating the character development of Cardan after the internal conflict between the fae courts has been resolved.
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories is a novella that projects itself as a fable. Readers are engaged to see Cardan attending to the same folktale in three different kinds of perspective, with each progressing as he slowly grows mature from the past experiences that he's witnessed over the years. Cardan goes from the petulant child who doesn't give much effort in understanding the tale to the teenager who stands in the middle ground of acknowledging and refusing to see how the tale applies to his situation, and lastly, the adult who begrudgingly empathizes with the moral of the story.
Back then, Cardan was known for his excessive bigotry in his youth, never hesitating to ridicule those who are beneath his feet since he is the princeling of the royal family—his apparent hostility with Jude since their childhood is one example, further with another case of his obvious glee on seeing how kidnapped humans are mistreated by high-class fae families. And yet, the portrayal of his emerging inquisitive attitude reflects the maturity that begins to build up in his character.
Black elaborates the progression of his character by taking Cardan out of the comfortable zone of Elfhame. Despite his protests, Cardan agreed to travel along with Jude to the mundane world where her half-sister resides with her mortal girlfriend. He is written to explore Portland city with a curious mind, albeit the occasional sarcastic remarks out of his own bewilderment and cultural shock on how foreign the mortal realm is to his customs in Elfhame. However, the change in his personality doesn't make him look feeble—he retains the trademark sardonic personality that has been exhibited since his first introduction, albeit more mellowed out and less offensive compared to his younger days. In addition, he unconsciously develops a timely sense of humor; a dry one, it's supposed to say, nonetheless, it succeeds in cracking smiles numerous times.
With a writing this nuanced and thoughtful, echoing the tone that she adopted when she co-wrote The Spiderwick Chronicles with Tony DiTerlizzi, it's baffling for me to see how Black could construct Cardan's character far better in a condensed space than her attempts on Jude in three books. Most characters in The Folk of the Air series are truly unlikable, but Cardan has passed that label into a charming, appealing character despite his flaws—his story feels much more authentic and engaging, opening to possibilities in bridging the discreet world of faeries and the massive mortal realm that he has just discovered.
For final thoughts, do I want to see more about Elfhame and the mortal realm through Cardan's eyes? Absolutely, if Holly Black decides to expand the series further. I'd love to see him exploring more of the mundane world... let's say, trying out weird jobs and foods and making a commentary channel about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Alcoholism
Moderate: Violence, Bullying, and Drug use
level1055's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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
4.25
I have never before held something so beautiful in my hands!
It feels like a gift from Holly Black!
🙏
It feels like a gift from Holly Black!
🙏
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Murder, and Violence
limitlessreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This bonus book is apart of my favourite trilogy...no shock that I loved it as much as the other books. The illustrations were beautiful!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Drug use
Moderate: Bullying, Infidelity, and Physical abuse
Minor: Death, Sexual content, and Violence
erovelo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Death, Cursing, Child abuse, Bullying, and Addiction
bookcrushin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was an interesting way to tell a short story but also get a glimpse into the mind of Cardan. I liked how it weaved the present with the past and how stories help Cardan grow.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Violence, and Infidelity
Minor: Death of parent and Death