Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

The Wicked King by Holly Black

4 reviews

noellegrace8's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

As stated in my review of The Cruel Prince, I really struggled to get into that first book. But I guess I got used to all the oddities, because I couldn't put this one down. There was less fluff, more politics, and it finally felt like the characters were the correct age for the things that are happening. They are adults now, making adult decisions and playing a dangerous adult game of power, authority, and death. I would no longer categorize this as "teen" literature, but "young adult." What really impresses me is that Holly Black manages to make me root for characters that are truly not good people, which is not typical for me. I wanted Jude to win in the first book. I was smug when she turned her knife on Cardan. But now in this one, I wasn't sure who to vie for. It seems like every time a character does something worth celebrating, they also do something that makes you hate yourself for liking them. The betrayals are painful but enticing. Also the cliff hanger??! My library is backed up 10 weeks for the last book and I am REELING about it. I don't know how I'm going to wait that long. This is fantasy done right, and true enemies to lovers (hopefully? Jury is still out on whether "lovers" is true...).

I don't factor the audiobook performance into my rating of the material itself, but I give Caitlin Kelly 4.5/5⭐. Again, by the second book in a series, I tend to get used to whatever problems I had with the voicing in the first. But honestly, there didn't seem to be as many parts where I felt the narrator wasn't portraying the correct emotion or tone of voice. A good performance, overall.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Xenophobia, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

florecita_lectora's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Gore and Panic attacks/disorders

sierra0107's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Haven’t read Queen of Nothing yet, but I think I can already say this is my favourite in the series. The first half was a little slow after all that happened at the ending of Cruel Prince, but it quickly ramped up. I enjoyed every second!

If you’re into the romance of the book, I would find another. The romance isn’t centre stage. What I adore about this series is the politics and character growth. I really liked how much we got to know Cardan, but him and Jude still kept up with their antics. Jude’s growth was amazing and I can’t wait for her to kick butt in the last book. 

If you’re looking for spice, find it somewhere else. I was told this book was spicy, it is not even close, sadly. If you like enemy to lovers and knives to throats, then this is for you! Again, have to remember it is YA, so it never goes as far as I would like but still pretty gruesome for a YA novel. 

Lastly, even though there are parts that could have been better, I give it 4.5 stars because I think this book has the best character growth I have ever read. As well, politics!! I love the deception and scheming that goes along with the politics of the Courts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, and Medical trauma

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Torture

The adult/minor relationship isn’t too weird, but the Fey are immortal and have relationships with humans who are much much younger.