Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Paladin's Strength by T. Kingfisher

4 reviews

wilybooklover's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

4.5

 I think I have a bit of a crush on Clara after reading this book. She’s such a badass! 

T. Kingfisher has a real knack for describing desirable characters that don’t fall into the usual ‘gorgeous and chiselled’ romance character archetypes. Not just the women, but the men as well. Her characters are older, less conventional looking, maybe even have a little bit of fat padding their bodies, but they find each other sexy all the same. It’s so refreshing and I love it. I also loved that both Istvhan and Clara had sexual pasts and were unapologetic about it. 

I did think that it dragged a little bit in the middle. This book is longer than the previous one and it felt like it at times. But the plots of Clara’s missing sister-nuns and the smooth men were engaging, and it was really interesting to see how they tied together. As always, T. Kingfisher balances the contrast of humour and sweet romance with creepy horror perfectly. 

Overall, another winner in the Saint of Steel series and once again I’m dying to dive into the next book.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual content, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Slavery, Torture, and Trafficking

Minor: Abandonment and Infertility

affabletoaster's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Confinement, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, and Alcohol

kamreadsandrecs's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

5.0

...as the story progresses, Clara realises that while the hurts done to her shape her and are forever a part of her, they are not the end-all and be-all of who she is. She opens up, not because someone else makes her do so, but because she chooses to.

Full review here: https://wp.me/p21txV-K0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Murder, Violence, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Body horror, Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

aardwyrm's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious 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

4.5

The only author I'll read anything remotely resembling a romance novel for. On balance, there's a lot of swords and creepy undead stuff to keep it fun for non-romance readers, and it's not cloying even if there's a lot of the stuff. Delightful weirdness, clever juxtapositions of the mundane and high-minded, a complicated plot that required no one to suddenly become incompetent. Also I assume a reference to Catherynne Valente's Orphan's Tales, which is fun.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Torture and Sexual assault