Reviews tagging 'Violence'

L'ombra della notte by Deborah Harkness, Cristina Volpi

38 reviews

baearles's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Addiction, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

hazelgirl21's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, and Pregnancy

livcashmere's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious slow-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

3.5

Unpopular opinion… but I enjoyed this book much more than the first one. I think this book portrayed a more realistic depiction of a relationship between Diana and Matthew. It was very good for both of their character developments to leave the modern period the first book was set in and travel back to the 1700’s. I also really liked how this whole plot gave much more depth to Mathew’s character and helped to make him much more likeable in my eyes.

This book felt more researched to me and drew on a lot of real historical truths and characters  to make this book much more immersive. At times the plot did lag a bit, but overall the pacing was enjoyable. I loved where this book finished and I’m very excited to read the final novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and Violence

maggies'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? Yes

5.0

Similar to the first book in the series, I found this one maybe a bit too long, but it was still totally enthralling. I loved the setting, watching Diana and Matthew learn more about each other and themselves. It was especially more realistic that this story took place over the course of a year rather than just several weeks, like the first book. The

time jumps back to the present

were also *chef's kiss* perfection.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Miscarriage, Sexism, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

foxgloveandcrow's review against another edition

emotional 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: Violence and Blood

Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, and Grief

katvou's review against another edition

adventurous informative 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Drug use, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, and Kidnapping

laura_mcloughlin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

My favorite of the series. Yes, the plot is extremely slow moving. It takes almost half the book for Matthew and Diana to actually start doing the thing that sent them to Elizabethian England. Do I care? No, I do not. I like the meandering plot and the characters we meet along the way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Antisemitism, and Suicide attempt

fireside_reads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual content, and Violence

beccaand'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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Blood

Moderate: Miscarriage, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Drug use and Antisemitism

theespressoedition's review against another edition

adventurous challenging slow-paced

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

3.0

Reading this series has been such an experience for me. As someone who grew up with such intense love for YA fantasy, moving into adult fantasy has been a little bit of a struggle. While yes, I find myself relating with the characters a bit more because I'm in their age group, it seems like adult fantasy, as a whole, takes a much slower pace to focus on world-building. I'll admit that I prefer quicker paces and more focus on character development, but I'm learning to appreciate this genre more and more, and the All Souls books are really helping with that!

Because this was a sequel, it followed the same progression as a lot of fantasy sequels and slowed down a lot to introduce you to the world in which the characters are living. I found myself zoning out a few times, but I think that a lot of that had to do with the fact that I'm not the biggest fan of historical references (which is why I tend to stay away from historical fiction) and so the true immersion into the 16th century was a bit uninteresting to me, personally.

That being said, I did, however, really enjoy how so many of the characters were real people. Maybe it's not exactly what they were like in reality, but it made the story more fun because it gave me the chance to imagine what they could've been like in those circumstances. There were a few really interesting references to well-known individuals that made my mind continue to ponder long after I finished the book (ex: Annie and who she actually was!)

One of the things this series has done is stick in my brain. Just like when I finished the first book, I've found myself revisiting the plot of the sequel to consider certain things and how they could play into the future of the story. Even though I might not have been 100% immersed in every single part while I was actively reading, it won't leave my mind now that I've completed it. This alone makes me all the more excited to dive into The Book of Life.

I can't wait to see what happens next!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Torture, Violence, and Pregnancy