Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Shadow Cabinet by Juno Dawson

33 reviews

bella_finlayson's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-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? No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Gaslighting

joliebean's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

letsy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Racism, Blood, and Abandonment

chanlo1994's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I've been done got by the plot. That's all I'm going to say on that lol.

This book's theme focuses on the eternal struggle between men and women. There's a lot of reflection on both prospectives, irregardless if they are right or wrong, especially when discussing the dynamic within a modern day setting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Genocide, Trafficking, and War

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Racism, and Self harm

pinkalpaca's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and War

jhbandcats's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.5

I really liked this right up until the last two pages when it went off the rails. Like the book that preceded it, it was enjoyable and entertaining. The writing was smooth and drew me in rather than complex and dense. It seemed more like YA fare but with non-YA explicit sex scenes. 

We learn a lot more about the character Ciara who was only briefly noted in the first book, and we gradually learn her history. She’s presented as a sympathetic character here although she was distinctly unlikable when introduced. 

I found this book too manipulative and preachy. I agree with everything the author is saying but I prefer to figure things out on my own. That said, I did appreciate the clear references to our divided society, conservative and xenophobic nationalism versus liberal acceptance and globalism. It was still too heavy-handed, though. Ultimately somewhat disappointing, mostly due to the ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Misogyny, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

dani_reis's review

A week from hell and I just can't care enough to keep going. The audio is SUPERB with Nicola and the plot is better than book 1, but there's so many POVs and not this week.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, and Murder

minervacerridwen's review against another edition

dark lighthearted mysterious relaxing 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

3.5

Just like Her Majesty's Royal Coven, this was a fast-paced read with spy movie elements in a magical world. I did feel like it dragged a bit in the middle of the book, though the point-of-view changes helped to keep me intrigued about other things that were going on enough to keep reading. Overall the atmosphere was a little darker and less magical, with more focus on characters fucking each other over than on sisterhood (which makes sense, considering the new main character, but also made it a little less appealing to dive back in after a reading break). The pacing of the ending was a lot more satisfying to me than in the first book, and once again there were some interesting twists to make me very curious about the next part!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Racism, Blood, Abandonment, and Alcohol

readwithria's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

The Shadow Cabinet was an amazing continuation of the Her Majesty’s Royal Coven series! The plot thickened, the characters developed, and everything expanded while also weaving threads together.

I’m so sad that this book is over. It is an excellent exploration of redemption, self identity, gender politics, morality, addiction, and so much more! I love this series, and Juno Dawson has given us a world with high stakes where anything can happen and nothing is as simple as it seems.

I cannot wait for book 3! Five stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Cursing and Murder

wallflovver's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

despite everything, i loved ciara.. i loved her, i cried for her and i (unfortunately) related to her.

i gave this a lower rating than HMRC, because i think there's a lot more i dislike about the sequel compared to the first book in this series.. but nevertheless it was a wild ride and seeing the story unfold had me gripped!

i will absolutely be tuning into the final installment, im very excited for it! 

ciara i love you and you've never done anything wrong x

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and War