Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

La guardia del rey by Nora Sakavic

9 reviews

sucralose's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This is like the best worst book series I’ve read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Outing, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

magicshop's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense 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

3.75

before anything else, please read my or anyone's content warnings for this series before picking it up. i'm serious. there is some hella triggering stuff in there. take good care of yourself.

this isn't what i'd call a good or well-written series. my overall rating for each book is pretty much about that, as is usually the case. the enjoyment rating, though, which can often be wildly different for me, is a fucking doozy of a 4.5-5 star. i consumed these books so fast i'm pretty sure i wormholed into another dimension for a while there. (there were aliens. they also enjoyed it.)

keeping it simple: the good, the reaaaaally good, in summary, is basically all of the character writing and eventual relationship development. nora sakavic could wrestle an interesting inner monologue and/or dialogue/banter out of every single ancient spartan citizen if pressed. that's the key, and why these books (aside from the first) have such high ratings, i'd say.

a few more goods or good-ishs:
- relationships. you may know this as a romance series, but it's actually mostly romance-less contemporary for about 2/3rds of the way through. despite that, or maybe because of it, i have enjoyed the relationships immensely, including but not limited to the romantic ones.

you can't tell what's going to be endgame until the end of the first book, in my opinion, and even then the tells are quite subtle. and before that, 99% of readers will be wrong about the endgame ship for quite some time.

things are developed so slowly in the romance department that i wondered if i would get bored, but then i remembered i actually like slow burn so slow and subtle it makes you feel stupid for waiting so long. it's not a bad kind of stupid. it's investment and payoff, and nora gives us the latter in spades.
- half the main cast is at least bilingual, and while it's quite unbelievable or at least confusingly questionable for some characters

(why do the minyards speak german? did they just learn from hanging out with nicky??)

, for most of them it makes sense just from their background, and it does make me happy as a bilingual person myself. the one thing that rubs me wrong is having nicky know no spanish even though his mom is mexican. in a book with so many people speaking multiple different european languages, that the one language nonsensically excluded from the mix is the only one spoken mainly in less developed areas of the world is a dubious writing choice at best.

now......... the bad (and sometimes reaaaaally bad, and sometimes actually not entirely bad at all and more complex but potentially ok than anything else):
- exy makes no sense. the rules don't make sense. the equipment doesn't make sense. i'm not even sure whether i can say nora tried her best to make it make sense or wrote every exy scene letting out villain laughs one after the other for several hours while ingesting copious amount of wine. either way, it's a mess, but it kinda doesn't try to be anything else so it's very easy to forgive.
- this book was written in the early 2010s and it shows. it has that typical early YA try-hardness going on, but i'd say as far as the ya i've read goes, it doesn't take itself too seriously. the way it's written makes it look like it's being taken very seriously, but there's something about it (similar to the lack of exy pretentiousness) that keeps it humble and grounded. you can tell nora didn't think this would be the next raven cycle or anything like that (though as a cult favorite it came almost close in the end??), she just sort of had fun with it. i can vibe with that.
- going along with the 2010s YA predicament, there isn't much political correctness involved, and certain slurs are thrown around semi-freely (mostly the r-word) by people who should know better. not a dealbreaker for me personally, but be aware.
- plot is neither here nor there. it's really just there to prop the characters and their develoment up and i wouldn't say it has anything particularly interesting or unique about it in itself. it's not what you'll care about. the people and relationships are.
- the stakes are so ridiculously high it's not even funny. everything is life or death for no reason, and everyone's been abused within an inch of their lives for most of their lives, no exceptions. these books are the definition of the "epic highs and lows of high school football exy" meme. now, this isn't exactly a bad thing in itself, because all of this abuse does happen, sometimes to the same person all at once, in real life, and people who share trauma do often flock together and take care of each other. that's a good thing to depict and i think nora did well. but it's also really overwhelming on the reader at times. there is very rarely any downtime for characters to relax and be themselves outside of a horrible or downright traumatizing situation, and they all desperately need that time. i don't know how exactly i would write this into the story as it stands, but i think it would've been a welcome change of pace to pepper in.
- everything about andrew's condition and his medicine is a grade-a disaster. that's not how medicine works, that's not how psychiatry works, and the message that only sobriety from psychiatric medication (which, by the way, is not supposed to make you "high" and "manic" - you are taking the wrong medicine and you need to stop! adults should know AND enforce this!) can bring forth someone's "real self" was frankly insane even back in 2014. andrew needs better medical care, not to be forced to

choose between his manic, borderline psychotic self and his apathetic, suicidal unmedicated self.

there is a middle ground, i promise. just. it's by far the most disappointing thing in these books to me.

phew, so! i can definitely say nora sakavic seems like a madman and a genius trying to decide which side to give into any given day, much like some of her characters, and i'd read just about anything she decided to write. and i hope she keeps deciding!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Car accident

readabookortwo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful tense 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

5.0

The King's Men continues to be one of my favourite books of all time. I will always remember when I first read these books and when I finished TFC it came up to buy TRK and then when I finished TRK it came up to buy TKM and I did so without hesitation and now, twenty rereads later, I immediately start the next one because these books are so addictive. Are they well written? No.is the representation good? Not really but these books are my home. They saved my life back in 2019, they are so beyond special to me and this book in particular just heals me and soothes my soul. I know when things are bad I can put this in my headphones and things feel okay again.

There are so many parts of this book that I love SO SO much. The development of Neil's relationships with both Kevin and Andrew, the way Coach tells Neil that he's saved this team and bought them all together and he trusts him enough to captain the team, Kevin finally letting himself start to heal, the iconic I've never been skiing interview, "fight because you don't know how to die quietly", Kevin and his tattoo that I also have tattooed, the end, so many things in this book just mean so much to me and so much of it makes me sob my eyes out and god I could talk about it forever.

Kevin "I've never been skiing" Day my absolute son, light of my life!! Kevin in this book, I just love him so fucking much. The way from the start you can see his development the way he wants to help Neil heal from what he went through over Christmas and then the way he stands up for himself more, the way we have that iconic interview where he says how he never should have been a Raven, the way he completely ignores Riko when they face each other in the final game, HIS LEFT HAND, the fact it's so important hes the one who scores that final goal. Kevin is just an incredible human and his development makes me so god damn happy. Kevin day is honestly that character I can talk about all day everyday and every single time I reread these books I become happier I've chosen to carry a piece of him on my skin forever in tattoo form. 

All of the foxes just come into themselves in this book. The way they absolutely rally around Neil especially after Baltimore just makes my heart absolutely burst, they truly are a family, they love each other so much and would absolutely do anything for each other. They are my favourite found family, they deserve nothing but the world and I'm so glad they got that in the end.

Again, I know these books aren't well written but they are special to me. They will always be special to me and knowing I can return to them always makes me so, so happy. Bring on book four, Jean deserves to tell his story. Plus Jean and Jeremy are my second and third favourite aftg characters so I am: excited. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Drug use, and Sexual content

Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, and Vomit

cait_0310's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

cait's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious 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

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

bellasbookish's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

DO NOT READ THIS BOOK. at least look at the triggers first, I'm just insane.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Outing, and Alcohol

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Acephobia/Arophobia

Minor: Rape and Self harm

please check tags I think I got most of them but.

wynterymess's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Police brutality, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Outing

Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

bisquii's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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

3.0

As this isn’t the first in the AFTG series, you probably don’t need this but its still important. 

READ TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE READING! 

WARNING:
Unrealistic depiction of medication/prescription drugs (antipsychotics) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

The book does not pull any punches or sugarcoat traumatic events, please be careful. If you have any doubt about being okay with reading about any of the trigger warnings, do know that the depictions of them are very graphic!

natnat_7's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Police brutality, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Outing

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship