Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Gleam by Raven Kennedy

34 reviews

spaghettii's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual content, Cursing, Drug abuse, Classism, Confinement, Infertility, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Gaslighting, Trafficking, Violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and War

eleek0609's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, Drug use, Sexual content, Confinement, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Infidelity, Cursing, Death of parent, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Trafficking

katharina90's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

The pace picks up a bit and there's more plot but considering the page count, it feels like we should be seeing a lot more action. We finally get some smut though! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Torture, Confinement, and Addiction

dealfea's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Cursing, Gaslighting, Grief, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Vomit, Misogyny, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Blood, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Gore, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

emilysbooksandbakes's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

4.25

This one was a roller coaster of emotions. We finally see our girl, Auren, choosing herself, and fighting for more. We also get some fantastic payoff on our slow burn and cheeky ribbons. The Game of Thrones continues as we are a new player to the game, Queen Kaila and her power over voices. The villain becomes even more villainous in a way that makes your blood pressure rise.  The last few chapters of this book are a storm of wanting to throw your book across the room, standing up and applauding in an empty room, and then picking your heart up off the floor where the cliffhanger leaves it.

One other thing about this book, as I feel like Raven Kennedy does a really good job of not just writing a great story, but writing beautifully. There’s a scene where Auren is recalling cerulean sails that merges with memories of the eyes of a former friend and it really just struck me as lyrical.

“I became too blinded by my bright sides to see the truth. Sometimes, you look at the silver lining so much that you drift into denial about the clouds.”

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Trafficking, Physical abuse, Addiction, and Sexual violence

monica0309's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

scarlett_f's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Sexual content, Gore, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Confinement, Grief, Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Violence

Moderate: Drug use, Addiction, Pregnancy, War, Alcohol, Murder, and Trafficking

bangiebangs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

Yes, this book finally delivers. You get all the steamy spice, the romance, the tension, and the twists. That, but heed the CNs again - where the last one was tamer, this one is pretty heavy, especially if you're sensitive to drug use and abuse. Spice, would say 4/5!

I read this one in one sitting again, and I feel like the story keeps picking up steam! The romance between Auren and Slade blossoms into steamy sex (dare I say: finally the slow burn is over!), and the first big story arc feels wrapped up. The book still ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but the main arcs are finished. 

There are a couple pretty intense themes in this one.

Spoiler

For me, the drug abuse - especially the scenes where Auren gets drugged - were pretty intense. This, along with the physical and psychological abuse is a severe mix.

Overall really good! I'm beginning to think you can skip book 1 (and maybe read a synopsis, or not), and just start with book 2. This could have been a duology. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexism, Addiction, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Torture and Slavery

redsrecs's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

This book was a whole ass ride!

It spoke to so much of my personal trauma but was done so respectfully you can’t not love this book.

Raven Kennedy writes gold, pun intended.

It’s dark, but we get so much character development. The world building as it has been in previous books, is perfection; the plot is amazing, the pace is perfect.

There is a lot of abuse between Auren and Midas and he becomes completely unhinged so definitely keep that in mind.

On the bright side, we have some real romance and spice and I squealed. This was the most amazing slow burn, it pained me in the best way every step of the way. 

This book had me sharing in Auren’s emotions every step of the way and I’m ready for more. Here to willingly drown in the gold that is this series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Grief, Addiction, Violence, Rape, Murder, Torture, Slavery, and Sexual violence

katvou's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Slavery, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Murder, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Grief, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Addiction, Gore, Gaslighting, Rape, Alcohol, Blood, and Sexual assault

Minor: Physical abuse, Infertility, Medical content, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Death of parent, Excrement, Child death, and Emotional abuse