Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Varjo ja riipus by Leigh Bardugo

204 reviews

justcallmeemily's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny tense 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

4.0

I continue to not understand why people dislike this book so much. I had so much fun reading it and I can't wait to read the rest of this series. 

I didn't want to put it down at all. I felt so immersed into the world that at times I genuinely felt like I was there. 

The only reason it's not a 5 star is because I didn't feel like anything in the plot was surprising. Of course I was very happy when I guessed the plot twist but I shouldn't have been able to guess everything that was going to take place throughout the book. I guess what I'm trying to say is, it was a little too predictable for my tastes. Even when I was actively trying not to guess where it was going to go.

Thankfully, predictablility doesn't mean I can't thoroughly enjoy a story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Genocide, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and War

filipacmiranda's review against another edition

3.5

Shadow and Bone dumps the reader into Alina Starkov's journey as a cartographer turned Grisha. As a main character, Alina is somewhat relatable. She kept trying to find her place and belong - something everyone experiences at some point. And, even though she spent half the book sulking, I can give her a pass because she was emotionally deregulated and lost after being torn from the only person who reminded her of home. 

The reader learns things at Alina's pace and gets familiarised with Grisha orders as the story progresses. The lack of an explanation for how Ravka and the Grand/Little Palace worked made the story seem more natural and aligned with her discovery of a new reality. The fact that there's no magic system in this book (with the Small Science being the manipulation of the elements) also made the world it displays seem closer to reality. 

This was a pleasurable read with intriguing characters. After seeing how the Netflix show expanded on the original content and considering all the underlying storylines, I believe it could have benefited from other points of view. 

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1st Read (2020): 4.00 stars 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Murder

Minor: Sexual assault

justagirlwithbooks's review against another edition

3.25

 “They are orphans again, with no true home but each other and whatever life they can make together on the other side of the sea.”

Well this book is honestly not as good as Six of Crows, but I guess that's to be expected seeing as this is her first novel. The writing style reminded me a lot of Divergent, and the book was fast to get through once I had time to sit down and read it. Comparing this book to Six of Crows is futile because Leigh Bardugo has obviously improved as a writer since writing this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Moderate: Toxic relationship

mckiheather's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Death, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, and War

charles_xavier's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and War

fadingmoths's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Toxic relationship and War

Minor: Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Classism

mirnda's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-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

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Death of parent

mythicsage's review against another edition

adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Abandonment, and War

kaycanread4's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Toxic relationship, and War

Minor: Sexual assault

memorykey2's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I like this book if only for it being a vehicle to greater things. It establishes the Grishaverse that has only served to get better as time goes on. I will say that the vibes are continually a little off if only because of how weird the Black General is around Alina. I've always had an issue with age differences and this is no exception. There are certain instances in this book that I have literally highlighted in red and blue because Aleksander should go to jail. Alina is still a minor, so ew.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Toxic relationship