Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Ravenfall by Kalyn Josephson

9 reviews

eadrianschmitz's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious sad 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

5.0

This is such a fantastic story. I love the characters and how quickly it jumps into the action. Excited for the next installment!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

imaginingly's review

adventurous emotional mysterious sad medium-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

4.0

perfect book to keep me from going into a reading slump. not cringey like a typical middle grade and very easy to read while also being written gorgeously

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

patchthecat's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

I absolutely loved this book. The way it talks about death and death of parents is amazing. I love the development of the characters and the plot is brilliant. Both so fun and loveable yet just the perfect amount for Halloween. Glad I read this for Halloween, it was perfect for a fantasy lover!

I was so sad with the death of Max, I'm so glad he came back. Happy Colin didn't leave Ravenfall. I didn't expect Gran to have been possessedby a wraith. Love all the Irish references. Anna was great and I felt so sorry for her so much when she felt left out and jealous. Colin has such great development about once hiding all this emotions but then overcoming that and becoming more open about how he feels. Loved Elaine and Roy's sibling relationship, same with Anna and the twin's.

Absolutely loved this book, not my ultimate favourite but definitely fantastic! 100% recommend to fantasy lovers and people looking for something to read for Halloween.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death of parent

Moderate: Violence, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Animal death

barefootsong's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

3.5

This is a good Hallowe'eny tale. I love the sentient magical inn (the titular Ravenfall). On the darker side of middle-grade at times, but with a lovable cast of characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Animal death, Violence, Grief, and Murder

nrogers_1030's review

emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Really cute!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Animal death

bookwyrmknits's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I don't remember where I first saw about this book, but I know that I saw that cover and immediately wanted it. And with good reason! The cover perfectly encapsulates the spooky-but-magical tone of the book without giving anything about the plot away. Plus, the cat on the cover actually features in the book, and is a wonderful side character!

The characters were wonderful, and the members of Anna's family all felt like family. They bicker and argue, and still have each other's back. I loved the depiction of family here. The Ballinkay family—for all that they have magic—feel very realistic. I also greatly appreciated the way they accepted Colin into their midst so easily. He needed the acceptance after losing his parents.

The house and atmosphere are also great—both almost characters in their own right. (Okay, the house really is a character. And it's wonderful!) I wish I had stuck to my plan of reading this in the fall leading up to Halloween; since it's set at Samhain, that would be the perfect time to read this book. I ended up reading it in the winter, though, and the darker, colder days still resonated well with the book's atmosphere.

I'd really recommend this book to anyone looking for an atmospheric, slightly spooky book featuring young characters. It doesn't ever feel too young, though it is definitely a Middle Grade book, and the adult characters were believable in the way they treated the kids. I'm definitely glad I picked this one up before the expected sequel comes out this fall!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

First, cat lovers need not worry, the cat will be fine (even when it doesn't look like it). Second, this is a Middle Grade book, and the plot revolves around fighting someone who is willing to kill in order to achieve his ends. The kids obviously end up in peril. However, they also end up fine (even when it doesn't look like it). And finally, one of our two narrators starts this book by seeing his parents get murdered. While we don't see that event through his eyes, we still feel the grief he carries periodically through the story. His grief is not the plot's focus, but it is definitely a factor in his character growth. He spends a lot of the time trying to bottle up his emotions so there is minimal time when the grief is raw, but it's there.

typedtruths's review

emotional hopeful mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal death and Violence

christyreads83's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

pollyhall's review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Death, Grief, and Death of parent