Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Gild, by Raven Kennedy

15 reviews

midnacine's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Third time reading the series, first time listening to the audiobook. My initial review is somewhere on here. But can I just say the male narrator (Blake Lockhart) is absolute perfection. He only read one chapter and yet I'm in love with him. I can't wait to hear him as [redacted] in the later books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Confinement, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Sexual content, Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Blood, Cursing, and Gaslighting

Minor: Trafficking, Animal death, War, and Death of parent

micaelamariem's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.0

This book was well written with an intriguing plot and great worldbuilding that had me flirting through chapters. However, there was too much on page sexual violence that we were only sometimes supposed to abhor as readers. The main character definitely has Stockholm syndrome and I don’t think that’s going to be addressed. I’m just so afraid we’ll see more toxic relationships develop as the series goes on but perhaps something will surprise me! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, War, Gore, Violence, Blood, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Alcohol, Classism, Murder, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcoholism and Grief

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Infertility, Colonisation, and Death of parent

katvou's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, Injury/injury detail, Rape, Violence, Kidnapping, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcohol and Slavery

Minor: Bullying, Grief, Animal death, Vomit, Excrement, War, Blood, and Gore

amidpages's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-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

3.5

It’s an interesting take on the story of King Midas. It just took so damn long to pick up. I kept reading strictly because I’ve seen so much hype about this series but I just didn’t get hooked on the story until about 75% of the way through. This is certainly a slow burn with a some world-building sprinkled in. I feel like this book was definitely written with the intention of being a series and does nothing for me other than to set the stage for the heart of the story… which I’m hoping is in book two.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexual violence, Confinement, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Murder, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Slavery, and Sexism

xlaurareads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

i've heard a lot about this book on bookstagram but was never sure if it'd be for me but when i saw that the series is now on kindle unlimited, i had to give it a shot. although i devoured this one in about a day and loved almost everything about it, i feel like it is more of a prequel where we are introduced to auren and her world. i kinda saw the plottwist coming, but it was fascinating nonetheless and i'm incredibly curious how everything will turn out! i also thought there'd be more romance but that was lacking a bit and a lot of scenes were immensely graphic and rape was mentioned a lot which can be disturbing imo. moreover, i feel like auren is a portrayed a bit too independent and strong in the second half of the book - it just doesn't really add up for me considering she lived in a cage for 10 years. nevertheless, it was a great book and i'll start the second one right away. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Blood, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Death, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

watsontheslytherin's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Injury/injury detail, Death, Cursing, Confinement, Classism, Bullying, and Alcohol

midnacine's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Okay at first this book seems really slow and boring, but keep in mind Gild is mostly setting the tone and the scene of Glint and Gleam.
When I first started reading this I thought Auren, the main character, was annoying and a little stupid. I felt like stuff just happened around her and it didn't make sense for the book to be written from her perspective. I had to continuously remind myself she had been through traumatic events and was clinging to any source of safety she could find- as someone who's been in abusive situations, this part really hit home.
Then in the final third, she starts becoming proactive instead of reactive, and all of the world and character building from the first two thirds build up to have you root for Auren to grow.
If this was a hard read for you, know that the second and third books are so much better, but it is important for you to read this before those so you have a more comprehensive understanding of Auren's inner turmoil. Trust me, just keep reading and you'll fall in love like I did. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, Rape, Confinement, and Death

Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Kidnapping

Minor: Death of parent, Trafficking, and Child abuse

eevacasey's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, Animal death, Confinement, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Rape, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Grief, Domestic abuse, Classism, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, and Murder

hannahbaysinger's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Death, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Injury/injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Death

Minor: Gaslighting, Grief, and Infertility

michellemaas's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

First read: 3 - ⭐⭐⭐
Second read: 4 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Gild suffers from first book syndrome. By that, I mean that there's not a lot of stuff actually happening, more so just exposition. I consider the first book in a fantasy series the sacrificial lamb. You have to speed through it to get to the good stuff that usually starts during book 2. 

I heard the rest of the series is amazing, and the author is clearly very creative so I am willing to hold off my harsh judgments until I've read books 2 and 3. Like I said there seems to be a lot of potential since it is an interesting concept and the author is good. But just reviewing this book individually, it's very meh. Not bad but not good. I am hopeful for the rest of the series though.

*Edit
I have since read Glint and Gleam and I fully stand by my earlier assessment. The first book just had to set up the world-building and as soon as you get to book 2 the plot starts to kick in. I would definitely say that this series is worth the read, so don't judge it based on the first book alone. At least read until book 2 until you make any decisions.

Also, the series gave me strong From Blood and Ash vibes so if you enjoyed that series I think you will like the Plated Prisoner series and vice versa.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Gaslighting, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Rape, and Sexism

Moderate: Physical abuse, Death, Gore, Grief, Violence, Death of parent, Injury/injury detail, Child abuse, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Torture, and Trafficking

Minor: Body shaming and Mental illness