Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Ruin. La lancia di Skald by John Gwynne

7 reviews

isi__1's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring 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

4.5

After reading the second book Valour, this series had already cemented itself as a new favourite. I knew that the following book would be amazing as well. Fortunately, I wasn‘t disappointed. 
This instalment kept everything I already liked about the previous title: an engaging plot, amazingly fleshed-out characters who I‘ve really grown to love and whose death is extremely devastating, and an interesting world. 
There‘s additional POVs in this book, but it‘s quite easy to get used to them. 
Some of the POVs in this series are straight-up bad guys, or morally ambiguous people, but I love to read from their perspective anyway, because I either love to hate them (looking at you, Lykos), or because I can partially understand where they’re coming from. The characters in this book just feel so real to me. I feel like this is how actual people would act in the situations that the book puts them in. 

I can’t wait to read the next and last book. I’m so excited to see how everything will be wrapped up. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and War

Moderate: Gore, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

cheazcakeguy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad 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

I am fresh off of finishing while writing this, but this is probably the best in the series so far. Each book has been truly epic in scope, and this one is no exception. It was full of emotional highs and lows, satisfying and heartbreaking moments, and

ends in such a way that I am not sure how the characters you've been rooting for are going to recover. Add to that the revelation that Meical confesses to Corban near the end, and I really don't know how Corban is going to recover or what he will decide to do next (if he even gets a chance to decide). Truly heartbreaking ending.

I can't wait to move on to the next and final book, Wrath, but I am also dreading leaving this series and these characters behind.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Gore, Torture, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Rape, Vomit, and Grief

xta_07's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Epic endings and secrets revealed, another fine entry into the John Gwynne catalog.

While I really enjoyed certain plot points, this books pace was extremely slow. But, when this book shines it really shines. All the battles are epic, and I really enjoyed the deepening of Maquin and Fidele's relationship. Speaking of Maquin, can that character just catch a break, please?!

I will return to this series to finish, however, I feel the need to take a break.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, and War

Moderate: Slavery

Minor: Grief

ripxreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Rape

jaedia's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Genocide, Rape, Sexism, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, and Toxic friendship

kylieqrada's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

Just a masterpiece. I knew sh!t was about to go down because third book in a series, plot cues were popping, number of pages was steadily increasing throughout the installments, but LORD, I loved this book. I can't say much because #spoilers, but I love how we get so many different perspectives, many of them "villains." It gives the story so much texture and nuance and I am LIVING. John Gwynne did the damn thing and, in typical fantasy fashion, my heart may not survive this series. Now for a brief romance interlude and I'll be back for book four. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Rape

seanml's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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

4.75

What in Elyon’s name have I just READ? I was reading the last quarter of this and then glanced over to the still unread sequel Wrath on my shelf, and thought there’s another book after this? I am consistently impressed with Gwynne’s ability to have me pumping my fist in the air for

Veradis

one minute and then putting my head in my hands for

Corban

the next. 9.5/10.

Highlights: Cywen, Veradis, Alcyon, Fidele, Tukul, Corban, Farrel, Trigg, Laith, Coralen, Wulf, Camlin, Halion, Edana, Balur – the list can go on and on. And also, the amount of different narratives means we have many differing antagonists, so we can enjoy the conflicted villain, the anti-villain, and the classic evil-doer all in the same narrative.

Oh and one more thing: F#^%

Lykos,

all my homies HATE

Lykos.

He has easily joined the echelons of Ambrose from Name of the Wind and Harold in the Stand as an antagonist that makes me seethe with rage.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Slavery, Vomit, and Death of parent

Minor: Infidelity, Rape, Excrement, and Cannibalism