Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair

5 reviews

mari1532's review against another edition

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

4.0

I first learned about this book series from @fromthemixedupdesk on Instagram. Luckily my library had a copy of this audiobook so I could listen and see if I agreed with the positive reviews. Unsurprisingly, I really enjoyed this book. This story has political intrigue, romance, morally grey characters and eat-the-rich vibes. Blair has created a complex world with layered dynamics between complicated characters. The tension and drama had me devouring this book and excited me for the next three installments. 

Due to Blair's vivid writing, I bonded with Keera throughout the story and the more I learned about her the more endearing she became. I am emotionally invested in her as a character and will greedily read the entire series emotionally invested in the outcome. I also enjoyed the romance subplot that Keera was a part of. The care that Keera's love interest has for her and their emphasis on consent was refreshing. 

I picked up on enough context clues beforehand to see a few of the plot twists coming, so they did not shock me. That being said I am intrigued about how Blair is going to bring all the threads of the plot together. It is clear that Blair has a vision for the world and Keera and I am intrigued to see where this is all going. 

I will say it was a little confusing keeping track of how old each of the characters was. Overall I do not think this distracts from the plot of the story, but it keeps coming up so I think that it might be important. The importance of age concerns the potential revelations about Keera. I hope it's more fleshed out in the next book. 

Overall, this is what I want from a series starter, something that is exciting to read and makes me emotionally invested as a reader. Blair has accomplished that with this book and I look forward to reading more. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Self harm, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual content and Sexual harassment

Minor: Sexual violence

_alyssar_'s review

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

bergha1998's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

3.75

I was not expecting this book to be so unique, I thought it would just be a Romantasy. But it’s so much more dialogues about racism, addiction, slavery. Very well done and interesting. I’m excited to read the second book. 

Fantasy, Enemies to Lovers, Character Development, 2 🔥

“And still he found beauty in the darkness of it, in my light and my shadows.”

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content

trippyotter's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

4.0

Throughout the book, I teetered with my rated and settled on 4 stars for the treachery. 

Everyone has an agenda and will do just about anything to achieve their goals, including our heroine. 

Though many of their goals align, will they be ready for the truth of their actions and how they impact one another?

And I have to say, like many others, I'm not sure about the love interest. I kinda want it to be someone else, so we'll see how it all comes together in the end. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

alicelalicon's review against another edition

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Self harm, and Classism