Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Gallant by V.E. Schwab

20 reviews

abbyschalupa's review

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

Felt very flat, while the premise is enticing the writing and plot heavy story with lack of character development made it feel on the young end of YA. I can understand some people thinking it could be shelved as middle grade- I just don’t think the addition of suicide was necessary for the story but besides that the writing felt incredibly simplistic and juvenile. The atmosphere could be fun but a large portion of the book was slow until the end. I was left disappointed after the climax and wanting more of a resolution. Glad to cross it off the tbr, though I won’t be revisiting this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, Suicide, and Child death

Moderate: Abandonment, Grief, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, and Confinement

binreads's review

dark hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

The kind of dark that tricks the eye. Makes you see things where ther are none. Or miss things when they are there. The dark that lives in spaces you know you should not look, lest you catch sight other eyes, staring back.

I loooooved this. The story was extremely detailed and immersive that I could picture it all in my mind as vividly as if I was watching a movie. Not only is the cover beautiful but the illustrations within the book are gorgeous and are a great addition. 

Very much gave Coraline vibes with the themes of the a girl finding a portal to this other world..

Spoiler

And the Other Mother is basically Death. Feeding off of their victims.

The beginning was a bit slow but once I got to the halfway point then banged it out in one night. Would not recommend reading in the dark in the middle of the night because I started to spook myself out, unless you're into that then go for it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Bullying, Confinement, and Violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Suicide

moonchild_cos's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Abandonment, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Bullying

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, and Religious bigotry

alibrarymouse's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

Beautifully written with gorgeous aesthetics, but the characters weren’t much and I have to admit I wasn’t too fond of any of them. We weren’t really given too much to be fond of, and with Olivia there was a lot of potential that doesn’t get fully realized. Everything I wanted, I didn’t get, but maybe my expectations were too high? 

It’s modern gothic, catharsis in its own way, but—at the same time—fantasy offers a twist I think would have made for a better ending. Schwab has realism going for her at least. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child death, Murder, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood

a_alves00's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Confinement, Child death, Death, Abandonment, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Grief

diana_raquel's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

"Home is a choice."

Talk about impulse buying! I was browsing the shelves of a bookshop when I noticed this book! I have read other books by V.E. Schwab but didn't know what to expect from this book. But it was a pleasant surprise, mainly because I actually liked a story with horror elements. Usually, horror isn't something that I tend to gravitate toward, but I really liked this book. Maybe because the horror elements are mixed with other elements that I like, such as mystery elements and a darker tone.  The characters are well-developed and well-written. The story has good pacing and is well structured. I also liked the fact that the illustrations themselves are also part of the story and not only accessories, a means to show the scenes. To tell the truth, I think that  V.E. Schwab was the potential to become a must-read author to me since I really liked every book that I read by her. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Animal death, Death of parent, Grief, Blood, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Confinement, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Pregnancy, Bullying, Body horror, and Violence

kyrstin_p1989's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

3.5

A hauntingly beautiful story of redemption, belonging, and the love of family. This book was very different from Addie Larue, but the storytelling is just as rich and luxurious and the images painted by the author come to life as you read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Child abuse, War, Violence, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Death, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

marareading's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

4.75

Alright, I get it. I finally understand why everyone was falling over themselves to get to this book. It's great. An orphan who sees ghouls, and finds her way to Gallant. An estate with a sorted history. She is mute and the adventure that is coming, so one could prepare her for. 

It is beautiful, Gothic, mysterious, and atmospheric. I devoured this book and will probably do it again. Highly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Confinement, Murder, Blood, Bullying, Animal death, Terminal illness, Body horror, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Violence

saurahsaurus's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

My favorite horror stories are both sad and spooky. This is an amazing marriage of both. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Confinement, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Gore, and Pregnancy

Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, and Medical content

penofpossibilities's review

adventurous dark mysterious relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

Yeah I fuck with this. Super predictable though but idm 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Blood, and Ableism

Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Suicide and Eating disorder