Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

21 reviews

kassidyreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual content

Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Grief, Abortion, and Alcohol

grey_poppy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Perhaps a bit over idealistic, but an engaging read of a young woman thrust into great responsibility.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse and War

Minor: Pedophilia and Rape

h_scharff's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Suicide, Violence, and Trafficking

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism and Abortion

sparksofkell's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Sexism, Slavery, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Abortion, and Death of parent

This book handles really dark things and treats them as reality. The main character wants to change this reality and restore a semblance of justice but that doesn’t happen in this book (book 1 of 3).

anonblueberry's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

I really don't know how I feel about this? It's messy and not always amazingly written, and there are some things that massively make me want to, I don't know, set fire to characters, I think.
But also there's some fascinating hints at world building that I want to understand. Which is why I bought the other two books for a couple of quid each off marketplace.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Trafficking

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape

Human trafficking is a fairly major plot point; the MC sees it as terrible and makes it her goal to abolish it, but as it's government sanctioned, many of the other characters are more lenient on it. Sexual violence, rape and pedophilia are very much the domain of "the bad guys" (and even the big bad finds the pedophilia abhorrent but allows it to remain as the perpetrators are useful) There are several depictions of battle violence. One of the characters is a survivor of domestic abuse and it's implied that she turned a blind eye to her husband abusing their daughter and possibly other girls in order to stay safe.

alixcallender's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.75

For me, this book ticked all the fantasy boxes that I need to enjoy it. I didn’t find the story slow the way some others seem to, and all the mysterious backstory intrigue has worked on me as intended. I want to know more! However, I do take issue with a few things:

There’s a petty disdain for beauty (particularly feminine beauty) that is hard to ignore. It seems NOT to be an important fixture of the actual story, but rather a personal hangup for the author. Beautiful women are either Very Evil (Red Queen) or Very Stupid (Elyssa) or Very Sad (Andalie and Marguerite). The only beautiful women who are “good” and earn any respect from Kelsea have been horribly punished by the world because of their beauty (either as beaten wives or beaten sex slaves). It’s an old fashioned, deeply flawed take on feminism that current thinking has outgrown, and having it at the forefront of this book leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It’s demonstrated in Kelsea’s disgust for fluffy throw pillows and gold vanity mirrors - “girlie things??? Not for me, I’m nOt LiKe tHe oThEr GiRLs.” And I don’t even know HOW to address the problematic way Kelsea treats that *old and ugly* noblewoman who dares to think of herself as beautiful. 

For someone who was isolated for literally her entire life, Kelsea is surprisingly well adjusted and ready to just, like, take charge of a whole ass country. And as for the country, I certainly hope this whole Crossing thing is cleared up in the next two books, because currently there are some major holes. Where is this magically unoccupied landmass that modern America and England can run to and colonize? Was it a space voyage? Why are there only TWO doctors in the whole country?? They really couldn’t have figured any of that out in all those centuries? The gunpowder “went bad”(????) and they couldn’t figure out how to make more?

None of these things offend me enough to put me off the series entirely, of course. What I’m hoping is that a complicated groundwork has been laid, that will be expertly resolved within the next two books. Do I expect that? Well, not really. But I’ll happily give it a shot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Blood, Abortion, and Death of parent

emmalily_1895's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

For me, the book was like going on a blind date on a whim and falling in love. Can't wait to read the next one.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, and Religious bigotry

It can get quite dark, but I felt like the potentially triggering issues were dealt with respectfully. Well worth it if you're in a good headspace.

themoodreader's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

addiemae09's review against another edition

adventurous funny inspiring 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Homophobia, Sexual content, and War

madamenovelist's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

Some aspects of the worldbuilding was absolutely wonderful and clever! Kelsea is a complex and compelling heroine. But all this was overshadowed by a positively glaring lack of anyone not of caucasian English (possibly a little Scottish or Irish?) descent. Despite everyone in the Tearling being refugees of Britain and America. It was incredibly uncomfortable to just pretend a couple stray POC who don’t even stay longer than a page exist in the Tearling, and only got worse when slave trafficking became a big part of the plot. In addition, every historic English caricature lobbed against the French was copy/pasted against the Mort in the laziest way imaginable. It felt like the author wanted to make a commentary on imperialism, without any introspection whatsoever on which countries have had the furthest imperialist reach or what that looks like. I wanted to like this book but too many things kept jarring me from the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism