Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Fortuna Sworn by K.J. Sutton

22 reviews

miraclesnow's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

So… I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. I inhale this book in less than a day. I can highly recommend this for fae lovers who want to get out of a reading slump, which I was on the verge of before starting this story.

In terms of the main plot, this book did not surprise me. (If you’ve read one fae or Hades Persephone kidnapping/blackmailing you’ve read them all) but luckily I still enjoy the basic tropes being used in a story like this.

I loved the slow introduction to the lore of the supernatural creatures to this world, but otherwise it was fairly predictable. The one plot twist there was was indeed a good one, but one big complaint I do have regarding the writing was the pacing. Some scenes moved on way too quickly, and important moments felt like they were put in strange and unsatisfying moments at other times.

But the characters and prose felt very easy to understand and quick to pick up on and read which is what made this story enjoyable past the rather rote first book. I now own the rest of this series so ofc I’m going to read the rest. I only hope the author tries some more adventurous plotlines from on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Slavery, Violence, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Cannibalism, Murder, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Grief, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, and Torture

yasmine1998's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Physical abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Slavery, and Murder

sammyfitz's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Kidnapping

ka_ke's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? No

5.0

I could not put this book down. It’s perfect for those who love ACOTAR but perhaps want something a little darker. The spice is mild, but I feel like it amps up in book 2. Fortuna Sworn is a beautiful character with fully personality. Do not trust Collith. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Medical content, and Misogyny

Moderate: Child abuse, Abandonment, Bullying, and Suicidal thoughts

backyardroses's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Violence and Animal death

spaghettii's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.75

A fun little fae book with tricky characters and nice little plot twists

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Blood, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Vomit, Violence, Animal death, Death of parent, and Stalking

prettynerdy3's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Slavery, Torture, and Violence

genny's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I was so skeptical about this book (I kept removing and then putting it back in my e-reader, haha) but I'm glad I decided to give it a chance! I didn't know what to expect other than a "fantasy romance", so I was surprised to discover that this was more focused on the protagonist discovering the fae court and passing a series of trials. I suspect that might be a cliché in fae stories, but this is the first one I've read, so...I liked it! It was actually pretty light on the romance since Fortuna's attention is occupied by more important things, but that worked in my favor. The concept of supernatural creatures descending from

Spoiler

fallen angels

was cool - I hope that's explored more in the next books. This was also way more grim and gore-y than I expected.

Spoiler

The death of the dragon made me teary-eyed :'(

I was waiting for an explanation about Collith's extremely sudden interest in Fortuna, but we never got one, and now I'm scared that we're supposed to just accept it 💀 That can't be it though, right? He had to have known they were soulmates or whatever beforehand...right? He didn't just pick her out of a crowd, I hope. I guess I'll find out in the next book. Also intrigued by Oliver and Laurie. I thought the latter was

Spoiler

an angel, not a faerie king

. My idea was cooler. :P

P.S. I despise the use of the word "mate", it sounds so yucky 😭

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Confinement, Blood, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Cannibalism, Gore, Slavery, and Murder

Moderate: Grief, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

aniwisniewski's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Violence, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Animal cruelty, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Murder, Toxic relationship, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Physical abuse

ophealian's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

Don't get me wrong, this is definitely an entertaining book. The main character is interesting, the plot is fast-paced, the world-building both fantastical and urban and refreshingly "gritty" in the way that it's very honest about how young 20-somethings think and talk, even when the main character isn't exactly human. 

The ONLY thing that I thought was a bit off-putting about this book was how often the narrative would make a SHARP left turn into sex. Now, I'm not prudish by any stretch (being raised by the likes of FF.net and AO3 has cured me of that completely) but it was still a bit jarring for me to be reading about how the main character has someone by the throat with a knife and is literally plundering the depths of their worst fears and then for her to suddenly be like "I can feel his arousal against my leg". Like, wait what? 

And maybe that's the point -- maybe fae in this universe are just Horny All The Time (TM) -- the author does make a point to have a character in-universe remark upon this, but just because there's logical explanation for it didn't make it any less whip-lashy of a reading experience. 

Fortuna also makes a point to tell you that she's a Virgin. Make do with that info what you will. 

But other than that very specific prickle-point, I ripped through this book and really enjoyed it. 

It's very effective in its portrayal of the illogical, unreasonable, unwavering love and loyalty that Fortuna has for her brother Damon, and Damon's brokenness and intense Stockholm Syndrome. It works as a reminder that these creatures are not human; in fact they are distinctly inhumane. Their cruelty and carelessness is played in contrast with their beauty, and I think Fortuna's initial confusion in reconciling these dual qualities is very believable. 

I had to constantly remind myself that Fortuna is not human, as much as she might act like one. 

The ending leaves a lot of mysteries unsolved and propels you right into the next book in the series. The cliffhanger/twist? *chefs kiss* 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Murder, Emotional abuse, Death, Child death, and Child abuse