Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

24 reviews

lizzie24601's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful 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

3.5

A well-done second half of the duology, though not as good as Strange the Dreamer imo. That's mostly bc Lazlo had such an interesting arch and growth in the first book, and in this book he's mostly just spending his time being Sarai's bf and Sarai doesn't really more of an arch than she does in the first book. SOOO much of the Lazlo/Sarai romance scenes could've been cut.

Nevertheless, there is some great character growth here, too - mostly for Minya and Thyon. The new characters were interesting and helped broaden the world. There's a little less adventure and mystery in this book, but Laini Taylor's writing is so good that you're still devouring each page, and it is quite a satisfying ending. (Obsessed with

Thyon's growth (I was so excited for him to reunite with Lazlo afterward) and with Sarai deciding to become a therapist at the end. Love that for her.

)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder

gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? No

4.75

This is a story about love in all it’s different kinds of forms throughout life that we might experience – romantic, familial, platonic. It’s also about how people deal with trauma and grief. Especially the generational trauma that comes with family and our ancestry. 

It asks some very big questions about what we are as children of our parents. What is our responsibility if they have done very terrible things? it’s really hard to grapple with the fact that you yourself might not be a perpetrator of violence, but that does not mean you were exempt from the effects of the generational violence of those who came before you. 

it is such a hard read, so many tears were shed. but it is very worth while to see the story of how love and forgiveness can begin healing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Death of parent

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Rape

lilifane's review

dark emotional 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

If I had to describe this book with two words, I would say: Emotional Damage!
I haven't cried this much while reading for a long time. I think I didn't last a single chapter without tears. 

Although I think the plot is the weakest point and the pacing is not as well done as in the first book, I still loved it a lot. Personally, I hoped we would focus on the characters and problems still present from book one and maybe a little discovering and adventuring. But it was a lot of talking instead, and then new characters were introduced who brought new problems or rather another layer of the same problems. 

Still, I loved the characters with all my heart and even if we didn't see some of them as much, I was glad about every second we got. I was also impressed by how trauma and healing were discussed in the book. These were the main themes in this duology, and they were explored in a very nuanced way. 

But beware of triggers. So many hard and dark and triggering topics. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Rape and Sexual content

anneroza's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

doodeedoda's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Self harm, Sexual content, Blood, and Death of parent

nytephoenyx's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

 As with Stranger the Dreamer, I was enamored with Laini Taylor's writing, which blossoms like orchids on the page. The story is good - there are a lot of exciting elements and complex characters - but Laini Taylor's writing steals the show. She may be a bit flowery for most, but she steals my heart and weaves gossamer threads through it, and I am in love.

There were a few things that were too easy, especially redemption arcs and resource acquisition, but I'm willing to forgive all of it. However, I lament that Muse of Nightmares felt like a middle book, and I'm crestfallen at the lack of continuing adventures.

Altogether well-worth reading and a breath of beauty and joy in this otherwise dismal universe. An easy five-star because Laini Taylor has a gift for weaving magic in her worlds and creating characters of all shapes and sorts that the reader can't help but love. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Torture, Trafficking, and Death of parent

Minor: Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, and War

bethy_joy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

msradiosilence's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

3.0

Tldr; Minya gets a story, but so do other characters that were entirely unneeded. For an almost 600 page book, it was pretty boring.

Read my full review here: https://www.rainyreader.com/single-post/muse-of-nightmares.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

*dreamy, wonder-filled sigh* this book is a gift; one of depraved darkness, oppression, hatred, but also of love and imagination and redemption and a world - worlds - of possibilities if we hope for it.

still have never read anything so wondrously, boundlessly imaginative, and the eretz easter eggs are a bonus too. muse is a languid yet tension-filled story, but its plot still contains surprises. the writing is absolutely exquisite; laini can make you ache, amazed, or devastated with just a phrase or even a single word. despite having already read this once before, i was still riveted.

i wish every single person read this book; god(s) knows the world would be so much better for it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Grief

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and War

oddduck's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

I have mixed feelings about this book. Like, I liked it, but there was a lot that was not at all where I expected this to go, and I'm still not sure how I feel about it.

Let's start with the things I unequivocally liked. I really appreciated that the pace in this book was faster than the previous one. It was still slower than I would have preferred, but more happened in the present and there were fewer interruptions (flashbacks, exposition). I also really appreciated that Minya got more page time and development. I was very interested in her in the first book, so learning more about her was appreciated. I really liked both of her dreams that Sarai went into, and it was delightful to see Minya choose Sarai over her army. In general, the character development in this book was very good and exactly what I was hoping for, especially for Minya and Thyon Nero (I was so happy with his development).

I also loved the new bit, about Nova and Kora. At one point I had to skip ahead because I had to know what happened in their test on the ship. It was so interesting and tense. It also demonstrated that Laini Taylor can write short, succinct backstory that's interesting and conveys all the information we need to not be confused later on. 

Now then. What I’ve got mixed feelings about. 

For starters, Sarai and Lazlo's relationship was cute, but I do wish the timeline on it had been longer. It was very instalove in the first book, and the way it's written in this one felt as if they'd known each other and been together for a lot longer than they really were. And I get why Laini Taylor did that, since almost the entirety of Lazlo's motivation for what he does after Sarai's death is to protect her ghost, but it still was a little hard for me. I would have preferred Lazlo have multiple motivations and not essentially just Sarai. Still, they're a cute couple, at least until I remember how long they've known each other.

I’m not sure how I feel about the multiverse being introduced. In hindsight the whole “not of this world”/alien metal and mesarthim in general do kind of hint at this, but because magic exists in this world, I was not expecting the multiverse to be the answer to “where did the mesarthim come from”. I do like the end, when they go off to explore and find the other godspawn. But otherwise, it was not at all what I was expecting. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it can be difficult to adjust expectations without enough warning.

I'm also not sure how I feel about the way the plot was executed. The Minya-villain arc was mostly resolved because a bigger threat was introduced, and then the last of it was cleared up when Minya had to make a choice. I really liked that Sarai was trying to help Minya through dreams, so it would have been cool to finish the plot that way. And that's kind of what happened, but it was with Nova instead, so it didn't feel quite as meaningful to me.

This duology was a little outside of my usual reading, which was nice, but it did remind me why I don't usually read this genre. They were certainly enjoyable and a good change of pace though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, and Kidnapping

Minor: Animal death