Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

A Duet with the Siren Duke by Elise Kova

3 reviews

taryn_g's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I wanted to carry on with this series because I have been enjoying it so far. I was excited to go into this book, but this book had a lot of repeated information and had a really slow storyline that was like a chore to finish. 

This book is based on Victoria and she risks everything to leave a dangerous marriage and gain a second chance at life. But when her escape goes awry, she finds herself caught in the strong embrace of a mysterious siren, forced to choose between temporary salvation or immediate death. And so, a cursed deal is struck. Five years later, Victoria is alive and the world’s finest ship captain. But hr debt to the siren looms while her conniving ex has demanded a king’s ransom as the final price of her freedom to suffer any more on her behalf, and is determined to make things right before her time is up. But that time is cut short, the siren comes for her, six months early. Taken to the magical and deadly Eversea, home of the sirens, Victoria discovers she’s the sacrifice upon which all sirens pin their hopes. If they want to appease an angry god and save a world of brink of destruction, then they need her. Which gives her the perfect leverage. Victoria strikes a new bargain: the Siren Duke will help save her family, and she’ll fulfil his demands. It's a good bargain until a flicker of passion ignites in the scarred remnants of Victoria’s heart, threatening all she’s worked for. 

The first part was really interesting, it shows Victoria getting out of a broken and abusive marriage and building a life for herself with her team and being a captain. Even though we knew that the siren was going to take Victoria, I thought the storyline would be Victoria fighting the Siren instead of just accepting to go with him and then worrying about her family. It had such a strong start and then it just lost the plot, and I spent the rest 85% of this book confused and bored.  

For one of the biggest books of the series, nothing happened. Once she got out of the marriage and was dead, it was just lifeless – no punt intended. There was no grab to keep you hooked, it was just a lot of words, and songs. There was no world building, the main love interest just seemed weak that I kept forgetting who was supposed to be the big brave hero, I get him being patient because he is a siren and Victoria was a human, but he was boring. More and more people kept getting introduced and then would disappear and then make a reappearance that I forgot who they were. There was world building but also wasn’t world building, it was just all over the place. The spice felt forced, and I ended up skimming most of the last chapters just to get through the books and I still didn’t get the ending – did she live? Or is she the new anchor being?  

Hopefully this book will end on a high, but this book was very disappointing, and this seemed to be the most important book to the author, but it was just not done well.  
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laylareadsthings's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective sad 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

3.25

I don’t think I’ve ever left a review for a book that made me feel as torn as this one. There’s beautiful prose here and an incredible healing journey, but I do not think I can say anything about this book left me feeling happy or fulfilled. This is a book comfortable existing in traumatic moments and sadness without ever really moving past it. For the entirety of the book, I think you need to be in a clear enough mental headspace to be able to sit with those feelings as a constant.
Yes, things are resolved… but this is not a book where that’s done through amends, or the proper people paying the price for their evil.
This is a book about understanding how your personal sacrifices oftentimes mean nothing to anyone but you, and being ok with that. This book is largely character driven (the plot does not pick up until almost 70% of the way in). I adore the Married to Magic series and I think I’ll reflect on this book for years, but now I need a good cry and to stare at the ceiling for a few hours. 
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