Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Malice by Heather Walter

26 reviews

cnaccarato's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

sapphicsoilscientist's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

2.75

It was fine. The mc starts out very ‘my life is hard and sad’ and turns into ‘I was bullied so it’s okay for me to be a jerk.’ I wasn’t super impressed with that. We all have hard lives and you made bad choices all along the way, baby. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. There was a jumble of fairytale aspects, some of them executed better than others. 

And listen y’all, Laurel was right. Aroura and Alyce were neither one fit to rule. They’re both idiots.

I didn’t really understand the whole shifter thing? It didn’t contribute a whole lot except making the mc seem like a Mary Sue. It could have just been part of her magic rather than another special trait. But it was nice to have her actually being a villain on purpose at the very, very end. I think a story about the actual powerful being would have been much more interesting. Or about the first queen in this kingdom. The author did pretty well with the actual court politics, so that part was interesting. I think there’s a sequel, but I don’t think I can be bothered with it. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and War

amandab0514's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Classism

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Death of parent

Minor: Blood and Injury/Injury detail

sav_22's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, and Colonisation

keya_caivalur's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Drug use, Genocide, Sexual content, Torture, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and War

ninamanon's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

3.75

What a great original take on the fairytale! I loved the world building and the magic system. Especially the first half of the book was thrilling and I couldn’t put it down. 

The writing was a bit too obvious and over explaining to my taste, sometimes. Some things would’ve worked better if they were left for the reader to figure out and conclude. 

The main twist could be spotted from a mile away. Maybe that was intentional! But it didn’t really work for me. 

I also didn’t feel a lot of chemistry between the main couple. It felt a little forced. There was barely any buildup. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

creativelifeofliz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.0

What a rollercoaster. I enjoyed the interweaving of fairytale retellings into this book and I'm very curious to see where the second half of the duology goes. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Gaslighting

Minor: Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Self harm, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, and Classism

islesbiyana's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Genocide, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Classism

msradiosilence's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-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

4.0

Tldr; Alyce is a bad bitch and I wish she’d gone off the rails sooner. 

Read my full review at: https://www.rainyreader.com/single-post/malice.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Self harm, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Murder, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Classism

cloudyfran's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Drug use