Reviews with content warning for Murder - This Gilded Abyss

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

This Gilded Abyss by Rebecca Thorne

9 reviews

fromthefoxhole's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious 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

4.0

What a ride, this book!

I usually hate when books are marketed "X meets Y, for fans of Z!" It feels cheap and inauthentic 90% of the time. That said, as a massive fan of Arcane and a Locked Tomb enjoyer? Yeah, they nailed that. I can't speak to Bioshock aside from the whole retrofuturism underwater aspect, but. I wouldn't necessarily quantify This Gilded Abyss as a horror, more that it has horror elements (a disease that makes people inexplicably violent and mindless, a haunting (?), I have thalassophobia so this entire premise is my nightmare anyway). It is, definitely, a SFF book.

So what didn't work?
1. The worldbuilding - There are moments in this book that are crystal clear, I could basically see the movie adaptation in my mind. There are others that had me flipping back through my notes like "how did I miss that?" only to find out that I hadn't missed anything, it just hadn't been mentioned. Lumos is probably my best example of this - we never got backstory on Lumos outside of Nix constantly using the name where we would use "God" in a sentence.

Then like 3/4 of the way through the book, there's the barest exposition that immediately gets flipped on its head. It would have been helpful to have from the beginning, to explain why Lumos = God in this world, the importance of Lumos to Valkeshia, etc. It would have made a better base for the Lumos-specific twist toward the end of the book.

2. Pacing - The first portion of the book kind of drags, where in later chapters every single one ends with another Major Event Cliffhanger. I understand ramping up the action as the stakes get more dire, but there comes a point where it becomes hard to hold onto all of the different threads. It could have benefited from being a touch shorter, or maybe omitting a thread or two to provide more space for the rest.
3. Writing style - I understand the frustration in several of the reviews about Thorne's style being very straightforward. There's a good amount of telling over showing, but I personally don't really mind that. Worth noting, however. There are several instances where something is explained 2-3 times within like 2 chapters, and if Kess is on the page, you can bet Nix is making a remark about her ichoron eye. That repetition felt unnecessary and stilted, at times.

What did I love?
1. Twists and turns abundant - I may have gotten a bit overwhelmed by the end, but I enjoy intrigue and suspense. It was hard to trust anyone throughout, and I know my heart rate was elevated at least several times based on my "oh god" note count.
2. Nix and Kess. Queen and Knight sapphics where they're both badasses?

"There hasn't been anyone since you"? "I had to do what I could to protect you, even break my own heart"????

God, I love lesbians!
3. Worldbuilding - Where I do have some clarity issues, as mentioned above, good lord this world is amazing. I'm a sucker for that steampunk retrofuturist aesthetic, and This Gilded Abyss absolutely nails that. There's no way in hell I would ever take a trip on the Luminosity, even before the events of this book (thalassaphobia, remember?), but the idea is so cool and the aesthetics are imacculate. All the rose gold, the geometric designs, even the outfit details are so specific and it really helped me feel immersed in the world.

I will say I wish there was a note in the title that this was part of a series, because when it ended I about threw my phone seeing "to be continued". But overall I really enjoyed This Gilded Abyss and I can't wait for the other two books to drop!

Content Warnings

jenpen's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.25

I reeeeally wanted to like this book. The author is a lovely person, I was excited to try out a new genre, and the plot seemed really interesting!

But I just could not get myself to like *any* of the characters. The MC in particular was supposed to be a super strong female lead, but she just cried and got herself rescued the entire book. In addition, it was slow and super repetitive, to the point that I skimmed the last half. The twist at the end didn’t excite me. The humor felt forced most of the time. Even though it’s marketed as horror, it was less scare and more gore.

The writing at a sentence level is pretty and great quality, and the world was interesting. But the lack of a single lovable character is probably what did it in for me. I guess this book just wasn’t for me, unfortunately. Still, I’ll definitely be giving the author’s cozy fantasies a try!

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n0elle's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Lesbian enemies to lovers on a submarine with political scheming and a lot of death.

I am not quite sure about this. It was a quick read and everything happened so fast it was hard to put the book down. But at the same time it made everything feel rushed and superficial.
The world building was very sparse, so much that when religious lore was suddenly introduced it felt misplaced.

If you like entertaining fast paced books about adventures and murders on a submarine, set in a queer-normative world without having to think too much about the general concept then this is for you. If you’re looking for intricate world building and fleshed out characters then maybe this one is not for you.

Please check trigger warnings, this one is quite gory.

3 ⭐️ because of the lesbians and a wild ride of a story.

Content Warnings

building_a_bookdom's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

dancers_and_dragons's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
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

Thorne does a stunning job of sweeping the reader along into this world, where mysteries run rampant and are unfolded as the pages turn. The tension and care and tumult between the characters was perfect to make me feel for them through each chapter, and the attention to detail brought things to life.

While I'd wished for a less ambiguous ending, I'm definitely bittersweet about finishing this book and I'm looking forward to the next installment of this series.

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Cursing, Medical content, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, and Gaslighting

Sexual content:

Pages 247-261 on Kindle, unsure of the count on other devices (the first half of chapter 23) contains explicit sexual acts between the two main protagonists. All sexual acts are consensual, but do have a layer of trauma behind them, as they had a previous sexual relationship that ended sourly.

Colonisation/Xenophobia/War: The country the protagonists live in, Valkesh, is at war with another society, the Triolan. From what I can determine from how certain things are explained, these societies do not look different from each other or have different racial features, but they do hold animosity toward each other.

While Thorne does a good job of showing that not all members of either society are a monolith, this progress from their perspective is largely unhelped by the events of the book and there is little to no resolution. One of Nix's best friends is a Triolan, which is further describes under "Betrayal" below. But the Valkesh do hold an upper hand in the war between them and have limited tolerance to listen to alternate points of view besides Kessandra, one of the subarchs in the monarchy.

Betrayal:

One of Nix's squad, Leon, is a Triolan and is working against her and the Valkeshians as a double agent, even though she trained him up and mentored him. His betrayal comes as shock to her and is described with a significant amount of grief and concern. He does attempt to kill her near the end of the book.

Classism: There is a clear hierarchy between civilians and the monarchy, with aspects of wealth and privilege that are mentioned heavily throughout the book and occasionally used as a power play between characters. Emotional abuse/child abuse/confinement:

Kessandra, one of the main characters, does reveal that the primarch/head monarch has kept her confined for years, gaslighted her and the country about the illness they're investigating, and has attempted to kill her multiple times since she was young. While this is not explicitly labelled as abuse by anyone in the book, aspects of it are explicitly described.

Confinement: At various points, the main characters or side characters are confined in rooms for quarantine or in attempts to barricade themselves from others. Also, 90% of the book takes place in a vessel that is travelling beneath the ocean.

robin_reads's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-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? No

5.0

A submarine disaster. A disease (and something more). Two ex girlfriends forced to work together to uncover this mystery. It’s tense, it’s emotional, it’s amazing and definitely worth the read.

Content Warnings

livtinja's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I thoroughly enjoyed Rebecca Thorne's Tomes & Tea cozy fantasy series and was incredibly excited to receive an ARC for her new book. While I'm not typically a horror fan, the warnings that accompanied this book made me apprehensive as I started each new chapter. It felt as if I were walking through a haunted house, anticipating something to jump out of the closet. And indeed, it did happen in the second part of the book. I lost count of how many times things went from bad to worse for our characters. However, overall, the level of concern for the characters was manageable without causing any nightmares.

Rebecca's exceptional writing makes you genuinely care about all the characters, including the main characters who are strong, lovable, and perfectly flawed, as well as the villains in the story. Their motivations are solid, and you can truly see things from their perspective.

The world-building and the central mystery are incredibly well-executed. There is some foreshadowing, but you have no idea how deep the rabbit hole will go.

There was only one spicy scene in the book, but it was exceptionally well-done. I mean, really good. It left me yearning for a prequel that delves into all the fun Nix and Kess had when they first met, focusing solely on their seduction and passion.

For now, I eagerly await the second book. I cannot wait to see where the overall story will take us and look forward to encountering new villains.

Content Warnings

smarty007's review

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adventurous dark mysterious 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? No

5.0

After receiving an eArc of this book, I basically binge read it in one day. This is my honest review: I am hooked. I binge-read it in one sitting and still want more. Before I tell you why, quick recap what the book is about:
This story centers on Sergeant Nix Marr and the royal Kessandra (sorry, unlike Nix I can’t list all her titles properly). Nix is the protagonist and the novel is told from her POV. At the very beginning there seems to be bad blood between the two women, but Kess wants Nix’s help regardless and even though Nix is reluctant, Kess prevails and they embark on their mission together. And no one is prepared for what happens next.

Okay, so the first third of the book is a lot of world building and character set up, which feels like a bit of a slow start (compared to what happens after they embark), but it really pays off. Taking the time to set up the world, the characters and the story ensures that you as a reader have a rough idea of what’s going on and what’s at stake at all times. And it’s the reason why certain things in this book work as well as they do. Also, getting to know more about the characters and their relationships makes the fast paced action that follows even more enjoyable. Nix is an awesome protagonist and works well with Kess who starts off as an antagonist. There are a few interesting and notable side characters that support the story. The plot itself is detailed and blew my mind. You think you know where the story is going until you don’t. There are hints, there is foreshadowing, but the plot twist still lands incredibly well. The pacing is on point and the action is entertaining, for lack of a better word. As the author has cautioned many times, this is not a cozy fantasy, it’s an action-packed and bloody one, so make sure to check the trigger warnings. Long story short: I loved this wild ride and can’t wait for the second book.

Content Warnings

leahs_library16's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

A huge thank you to Rebecca for the honor of beta-reading this novel!

This book ticked all the boxes for me: diverse and likable characters, in-depth world-building, an interesting and intriguing plot. And I couldn’t put it down. I loved this so much. So, so much. This book was so intense and brilliant and beautifully written. I’m all for all things bloody and gory and this book hit the mark. This book hit all the marks. It was tense. It was horror. It was plot twist after plot twist I never saw coming. I’m serious when I say this is gonna be one of those books that stick with me. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

This is a book you don't want to miss. Seriously, go read it. You won't regret it at all.

P.S. If you're not a fan of spice, like me, skip chapter 23. Just read the very last part after the line break. You won't miss a thing!

Content Warnings

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