Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

53 reviews

mads_reads_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

ta2dlibrarian's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

Solid sequel with a plot twist and a cliffhanger ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content and Toxic relationship

klsreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

*Extremely long sigh* I made a mistake because I thought this was the final book, not the second in a trilogy. I read it thinking it was going to wrap everything up and ended up pretty disappointed. I was wrong!! That being said, I don't think Hell Bent hit it out of the park like I thought it would. There was so much action and (dare I say) extraneous plot devices that I got whiplash. This isn't the first time I felt that way with Bardugo's writing. I think it worked in Six of Crows, but not as much here. The darkness requires some sitting, some stewing. I think Bardugo needs to fully commit to the audience - is this adult? Mature YA? There's sexual violence, but no sexual autonomy or processing. There's physical and emotional violence, but it doesn't settle. There's urgency, but less understanding. Things aren't reckoned with. College kids don't always act like college kids, cops don't act like cops, people are just kind of...off? I wanted to sit more in the big moments and implications, but found myself getting rushed along despite the first ~300 pages dragging. 

I'm giving this a 4 because I love the premise of the series, and I hope that Bardugo can pull it off with the final novel. There are SO many interesting things going on, and I think she can recapture the balance of the first book, answer the big questions, and actually explore power, class, racism, sexism, colonialism, and violence in academia. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

jeggert10's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury

rainyghost's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Vomit, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

joensign's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, and Sexual violence

Minor: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment

adrienreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

One of my favorite Bardugo books so far - incredible read, I loved it more than the first in its series. 

This book is dark, but if the first book was too explicit/intense for you, this one definitely felt "lighter", more-or-less. Still dark and horrific, but there was far less (on-screen at least) sexual violence, and overall I had a much easier time with this one. Again, still not "light reading" by any means, but worth noting. 

If you've loved Bardugo's other books, this one scratches that same itch, and more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Misogyny, Racism, and Slavery

morguemoth's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Classism

Moderate: Drug use, Misogyny, Rape, and Colonisation

Minor: Self harm, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

alexijai98's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Forced institutionalization

caroline_wavesandpeanuts's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail