Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

36 reviews

ashleynp24's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

4.75

Boy, was this a SPICY book. 

I didn’t expect it to be this spicy, considering the past few books having a nice mix of politics and war in it. While this book did have some action, a lot of it was a romance, which I did enjoy a lot. 

I always liked Nesta, even though she was such an unlikeable character the past few books, but the character development in this book was so good. She really got her redemption arc, while it also worked to tell us a little more about the other characters. Her determination and attitude made her a really fun character to read about.

I do wish it had a little more of Feyre and Rhys just because I’m so used to their POV with the past few books and I felt there wasn’t much except about the baby. Regardless, I loved Cassian and Nesta’s hate to love dynamic, and was delighted with the depiction of Nesta and her female friendships. 

Their friendship was so wholesome and needed to kind of break up how dark parts of this book were. Overall, really liked getting to learn more about Nesta, and I hope the next few books announced lean into Elain and Azriel so we can get to know them more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Physical abuse, War, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual content

banscout's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

if there is one thing that sjm can do incredibly well, it is writing mental health, it is writing the worst lows that have no apparent end and how those lows do not have to be constant. how suffering does not have to be experienced alone. that all of it begins when you come to that grave realisation that something is terribly wrong, and that there is a life we are all worthy of experiencing. that there is hope, and that hope will guide us, through whatever it is that we battle. no battles are fruitless, and nesta is the embodiment of that. whilst trauma will lay upon us open wounds, those open wounds will one day scar. and those scars that may never fade with age will only be just that - scars. this book is a symphony for those who one day thought they'd never make it. but you did. there will always be another tomorrow. the sun will always rise again. so breathe.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Addiction, Eating disorder, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Animal death

Minor: Excrement and Miscarriage

redheadsuperpowers's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I really liked this book,which I was a bit surprised about, as the main character in this is Nesta, who has consistently been a PITA the rest of the series. I love the found family feels in this, and the deeper exploration of friends that turn into family. The dive into the magic system in the one was great. We got to see just how varied powers can be in their world. The background info on the Archeron's life before their Father's original downfall was interesting, especially since it was presented as Feyre was too young to really remember the events shared. I love love love Nesta and Cassian's interactions, and while I am not the biggest fan of spicy scenes, there was enough plot around it for me to enjoy the book. The thematic arc of women taking back their power was just *chefs kiss*. I quite like Emerie, and would love to see more of her in future installments of the series hopefully. I also really appreciate the triumphant moments that the characters get. This was such a good book. I am glad my coworker Jordan got me to continue reading the series after the disappointment of the first book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism and Sexual content

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Minor: Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Medical content, Death, Grief, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, and Blood

headinthepages's review against another edition

V enjoyable reread via audio!!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Chronic illness, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Toxic relationship, Child death, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

prettynerdy3's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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: Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Sexism, War, Torture, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Child abuse, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Rape, Torture, Ableism, Animal death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Sexual assault

paigeinabook's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Child death, Confinement, Kidnapping, Body horror, Excrement, Hate crime, Addiction, Blood, Death, Alcohol, Cursing, Alcoholism, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, Gore, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, and Pregnancy

lisagonzalez's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, War, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Murder, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Classism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Cursing, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Violence

apalershadeofwhite's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Grief, Murder, Blood, Death, Violence, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

Minor: Rape, Excrement, Sexual assault, and Torture

megcarrick's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Miscarriage, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Sexual assault, War, Cursing, Gore, Kidnapping, Violence, Addiction, Body shaming, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Sexism, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

downsophialane's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

5.0

A Court of Silver Flames is outstanding, but it is not for the faint-hearted. My girl Nesta goes through it. There are parts of her journey to healing that are hard to read, and this novel is long, but it's absolutely worth it.
 
This summer is my reintroduction to speculative fiction after a long time away so I'm not fantasy expert; thus, I'll leave the critique of the fantasy worldbuilding to other reviewers. My expert area is romance though, and the development of Nesta and Cassien's relationship is something special. This book is notably sexier than previous SJM books, but I would argue that the explicit scenes here are doing what they need to, to serve the emotional arc (which is what sex scenes in romance novels are supposed to do). Cassian is also a god among men in the ranks of romance heroes. He is fully devoted to Nesta despite her tendency to lash out at him, but he doesn't veer into creepy "persistent" territory where harrassment is treated as romantic.

Truly, I would go to war for Nesta. She is what may be called an "unlikeable heroine", but that label feels reductive when the reason is so clear and deliberate... She isn't unlikeable, she has debilitating trauma and self-hatred. She is surrounded by people who are not able or willing to give her the grace of being depressed, compounded by her lashing out at anyone attempting to reach her. I felt the conflict between Nesta, Feyre and Rhysand was so well-done: no one is blameless but everyone's perspectives are understandable. 

SJM's unabashed appropriation of romancelandia chat, Nesta's friendly house that reads romance novels, and the Valkyries' training also affords some much need levity. This book is as much a celebration of female friendship as it is a soarching romance. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Suicide, Murder, Death, Blood, Mental illness, Death of parent, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

Moderate: Miscarriage, Body horror, War, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child death, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

There are some outstanding visual moments in this book - her first time with the silver flames after her nightmare was memorable, and I won't forget the horrific description of the Kelpy in a while. I also squalked aloud when she was turned on by Cass and Az sparring and imagining a threesome... Thank you SJM, I need that levity in your PTSD book!