Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

20 reviews

saara_ilona_muu's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

bzliz's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

3.75

Theodosia is the princess of a conquered country, kept in her stolen castle and abused by the Kaiser who invaded her lands and enslaved her people. Her every move is watched and she suffers greatly for every act of rebellion anyone dares make. After being forced to take a life herself, she learns to fight back and begins planning her own rebellion and escape for the good of her remaining people. 

Readers should beware that any glimpses of hope are few and far between as Theo plays a game she barely knows the rules to while everyone else wins by cheating. Like so many YA series, there are two more books so it’s not surprising truly how little is accomplished in this one. My biggest complaint is the same I have with so many other similar books- these characters fall in love so easily for no reason at all! I know the romance is a big draw for readers but it would be nice to see some of these protagonists stand on their own. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

alyxbeau's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

This was perhaps a better book than audiobook, but this review is for the audiobook version. Ive had this book on my shelf for ages, as it has one of my favorite plots - displaced royalty working in a rebellion - but I found it VERY difficult to set aside all the (obviously) German inspired culture put in such a negative light out of the historical context of the world wars. This isnt something that should have taken near direct words from the existing language and put into a fantasy setting. The language and titles should have been completely made up. Apart from that, I didnt find any of the characters likable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Suicide

Moderate: Sexual harassment

Minor: Rape

tiana_king's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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: Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse and Mental illness

Minor: Domestic abuse

whatischellereading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

Let’s just start this off with saying this story is brutal.  Please check any trigger warnings before diving into this book.

I loved the story as we find ourselves introduced to Thora as she lives in the palace with the king who invaded her kingdom.  She lives as a plaything for him to humiliate so straight out the gate you hate the king (the Kaiser) and are whole-heartedly rooting for Thora.

The story is so tense all the way through - as soon as you think there is some reprieve, in comes another scene that gets your pulse racing.

I really liked the development between Thora and Soren and I'm interested to see how this develops in book 2, Lady Smoke.  All the characters are compelling and you do develop strong emotions for all of them, whether it be love or hatred.

Marking this down by half a star due to the level of brutality in some scenes.  It actually made my anxiety disorder rise and I just couldn't bring myself to enjoy that part of the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Rape

emjen16's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism, Vomit, and War

onefineelephant's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

9/10. This book was much better than I was expecting. There are not many times when I am genuinely surprised by a book, but there were two parts of the book when my jaw dropped. I also really love both of the love interests even though I am not usually a fan of love triangles. I am very much anticipating what could happen next in the other two books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

navibo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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? No

5.0

The ratings for this book are low, but I honestly loved it. There are a lot of plot twists and surprising connections. This is a 5 star read and I stand by that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Colonisation

fabigz0308's review against another edition

adventurous 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and War

nana_7's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-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: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Confinement