Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Bear and the Nightingale, by Katherine Arden

51 reviews

mengzhenreads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-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

3.5

Obsessed with the atmosphere and setting of the book, I loved the wintery medieval Russian setting and the pastoral, quaint, and lyrical writing style. It was giving very much folk tale, very much warm and cosy, and I was just fascinated by the world and magic that the author created.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, and Death

Moderate: Child death, Animal death, and Sexism

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

katieluvs2read'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Animal death, and Death of parent

Minor: Blood, Violence, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

jelliestars's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Death

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Alcohol, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Child death, Child abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, War, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexism

words_and_dreams's review

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? Yes

5.0

💞 I absolutely loved this. It had been on my TBR for a while but finally got around to reading it. It was the perfect cosy, dark and whimsical fairytale to read during the frosty cold days. 
It is rich in russian folklore and myth and follows our heroine Vasya. She has the 'sight' and sees and respects the magical creatures that surround them. Her new stepmother also has the sight but believes them to be demons and fears them. She plots to be rid of her stepdaughter to be rid of the creatures. Meanwhile the Bear hunts Vasya and his brother the frost King tries to protect her. 
Cannot wait to read more. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Child death

mmefish's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

It's hard to believe that Katherine Arden is not Russian (or just Slavic) because of how authentic this book feels — it is clear she's very knowledgeable on the subject. Well integrated myths and Russian terms brought back memories from my childhood, while masterfully crafted 14th century Rus' landscapes made me want to read more Slavic-inspired fantasy. 
And to think that it's a debut novel!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Gore, and Sexual assault

Minor: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, and Rape

ktkeps's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Injury/injury detail, and Death of parent

kittykolektor's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

5.0

A crash course in Russian folk lore written in beautiful imagery with characters you love and hate. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, and Death

It is set in old Russia. Corporal punishment was considered expected.

atthelibrarywithmegan's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Death, and Child death

lowkeymarie's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

 This one took a little bit for me to really get into. Not sure if that was the pacing, or just me having to adjust to the Russian/ish language (my brain gets hung up on not knowing the correct pronunciation of things, anyone else?).

But once I got into the ~vibes~ of it all, wow. The writing and setting are so atmospheric, and the author really nailed the fairytale feel of it. Vasya is also a fantastic main character! So warm, with so much love for her family, but also courageous and unapologetically herself.

I'm very curious to see what other adventures our heroine gets up to in the next installments, as this was a very neatly-contained story... 🤔 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Child death

laurenw's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Injury/injury detail

Minor: Child death