Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

La novena casa by Leigh Bardugo

37 reviews

ktv's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I loved this book. Perfect first read of the year. I loved the timeline being nonlinear. Foreshadowing was predictable at some parts in the beginning but at the end (last 25%) I had no idea what I was going to be hit with next.

Loved how the wheel symbolism came back fill circle. Also how Bardugo characterized Belbalm like I thought she had something to do with magic at first but then my scent was thrown off that trail because of how convincing the writing was saying that Alex just wanted a normal and calm life.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Slavery, Excrement, and Antisemitism

bookishgia's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Very long list of trigger warnings attached to this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

delvie's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

I would put money down that Leigh Bardugo and Holly Black wrote their occult-adjacent adult debut novels together on some secret writers' retreat. They're eerily similar on tone and theme. Additionally, the main characters in both books, Alex and Charlie, would be fast friends.

My feelings on this book are extremely similar to my feelings on Holly Black's debut adult novel: the critiques hold up. It IS slow. It IS boring.

I called the first half of the twist shockingly early along; I don't think that's due to me being clever so much as it being obvious. That being said, the second half of the twist wasn't so much of a twist as it was a lore dump. Books with mysteries that don't give the reader everything they need to solve them aren't mysteries so much as messy. And the plot threads that are left after the initial murder is solved are tied up by some piece of lore neither you or the main character had an idea about. It's supposed to be this mic drop "oh shit" moment that puts you onto the sequels, but I was left feeling annoyed that I had wasted energy trying to solve something that I couldn't have solved. It's not clever; it's not a trick question- it's annoying and poor writing.

Alex is extremely dry as a character. I couldn't tell you a thing about her that isn't her aesthetic or her trauma. Same goes for every other character in this book, unfortunately.

Check the trigger warnings; I don't think having to read/listen to the graphic scenes were worth what I got out of this book in ANY stretch of the imagination. I won't be reading the sequel.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Trafficking, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Vomit and Alcohol

nenya's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

this was such an easy 5 stars holy smokes. i‘ve got to be honest, i found it quite hard to really get into it at first (it’s not being told chronically and there are like 3-4 points in time that keep changing throughout the narrative and that you need to keep track of - but once you figure it out, it really adds to the reading experience, i loved it) but the plot, characters and especially the plot twists (!!) really won me over - especially the plot twists, because they are partly very hard to predict (also because of the time jumps), which made this book a very mysterious and catching read. the only complaint i have is that the sequel won’t be out until next year :((

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Medical content, and Trafficking

mcczaw's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Can be very slow at times despite lots of action! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Violence

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, and Trafficking

fourfootedbeasts's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Vomit, Trafficking, and Murder

Minor: Forced institutionalization

renikajw's review against another edition

dark 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: Drug abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Trafficking, and Murder

queenstaves's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Toxic friendship

The author uses rape, date rape, sexual assault, sexual trauma, etc. in a way that reads as trauma being a character flaw/trait instead of a part of an emotional arc. It is used in a way that reads as "edgy flavor" and not the horrifying things they are. They are used to position the protagonist as an edgy savior. She "gets revenge" for women being date raped by forcing the men to eat shit (literally), and it's used as this "I really showed them!" kind of moment. It is a gross use of the content.

elthechameleon's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

2.0

This just wasn't the book for me. I loved the narrator, Lauren Fortgang, and I highly enjoyed the added interview at the end. I just felt that I never really connected with any of the characters, despite me thinking that I would because I know the vibe of Yale really well. Darlington's commentary and his gentleman antics were rather entertaining, and I even think he draws out a connection between able-bodied fitness and prestige that appears so often in old boy schools. I just didn't really grab onto the secret societies. They weren't fleshed out for me in a way that felt intriguing. 
I have heard people say that Legendborn did this dark academia niche better and after finishing, I agree. Spoiler for both Legendborn and Ninth House:

I think there was something really fitting about the UNC Chapel Hill secret society having history and roots in slavery and misogyny and rape. The revelation that a woman on the inside of the university betrayed other women from all different classes and races felt...unspecific.

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There was always something about this book that felt off in representation. I can't put a finger on it exactly. Maybe it was because Alex's life felt so violent without any positive joy? Or that her background was so non-specific - especially in comparison to the overly descriptive trauma Alex went through? I will say that I was glad that Alex's background with food insecurity was explored, but there were just other problems, too. (Also - there is still food scarcity for some students at prestigious universities. Food isn't automatically solved after admission). It felt like Bardugo was unwilling to commit to Alex having a distinct ethnicity out of nervousness of having poor representation. And then her indecision made that happen anyway.  

There were upsides. Dawes is an incredible character, and the ending is intriguing.

This just was such a step down after the King of Scars duology. I had high hopes, and it just didn't deliver. 
Maybe it is someone else's perfect book, though! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Grief, and Classism

also lots of mentions of possession

orndal's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

2.5

Could have been real great with a better story structure and more world building. Linear storytelling would have helped with upping the stakes.

The ending came out of nowhere with little to no setup for the reveals. As a mystery novel, this is terrible.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Addiction, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism