Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Varjo ja riipus by Leigh Bardugo

2 reviews

orchidlilly's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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

3.5

Fantasy not-quite-Imperial-Russia with weird magic people is a pretty neat premise. I really appreciate the world building, which feels realistic but not so overtly 'just Russia' that it pulls you out. The magic is fun, even though it isn't very in-depth, and the plot as a whole is very gripping. Mostly, the characters are the biggest issue. Insofar as they don't have much personality. Alina is just a bland YA fmc, the Darkling is just broody hot and evil, Mal is good and also hot, and I can smell the love triangle from a mile away. It's not terrible, though, just very full of the standard YA cliches. I also don't generally love first person, but the writing is good enough that I can overlook it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Medical content, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Infidelity, and Slavery

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Slavery, Grief, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Fatphobia, Infidelity, Racism, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Relationship (explicitly unhealthy/abusive) between teenager and character who appears around the same age, but is 100+.