Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Last Sun by K.D. Edwards

39 reviews

starlitpage's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-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

1.5

I started out not liking this book for being too edgy for my personal taste, and finished up disliking it because of the lack of conclusion. From the beginning I felt like I was starting in the middle of something and missing context, and I didn't get satisfactory answers by reading on. There was even a prophecy--I love a good prophecy--that only about 1/3 of it happens in the story. There's an interesting story in this world and this premise, but I'm not convinced it's the one I just read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Alcohol and Classism

barometz's review

I keep trying and I just don't like urban fantasy. I feel like this book and pretty much all other UF I've read simultaneously have too much going on and not enough.

The scene that was the final nail in the coffin for me was a good example, I think.

The main character and his bodyguard were at a bar with the kid they're supposed to be taking care of, looking for information. They all order drinks when they walk in. MC wanders off to find the person who supposedly has the information, gets it, everyone's ready to leave. But then we realize the kid is in the corner on a drug trip because the bartender mixed something into his drink. The bartender's reasoning is that the kid is from the (legitimately awful) magic family that got destroyed at the beginning of the book, and fuck those people--except that the bartender also seems to understand that this child was a victim of that family.

There's no reason for him to do it, and the entire scene does nothing but slow the book down; I don't get what we're doing here and I don't really enjoy the opportunity for the bodyguard to commit a little more gratuitous violence (nor do I think it's funny or cute to slip drugs to an abuse victim without their consent!!). Besides these kinds of moments that don't seem to do anything to move the plot, there aren't a lot of spaces to digest what is important, so the entire thing is difficult for me to follow.

There's so much going on that nothing in particular seems important, which seems to be a constant theme with the entire UF genre.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Child abuse

lanid's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Sexual harassment

20sidedbi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

Very very good book, but holy crap make sure you check the content warnings for

sexual violence

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Trafficking, and Alcohol

austinisweird's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Trafficking

Moderate: Sexual content and Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

toopunkrockforshul's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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

4.75

Really interesting worldbuilding and many plots weaved throughout. The characters were all really unique and intriguing and I liked the range of relationships that were at the forefront of this book. Excited to read the rest of the series. Some of the twists were a bit predictable and the language a bit clunky at times, which is why it's not 5 stars for me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Kidnapping

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, and Death of parent

liawarsa's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Rape and Death of parent

xaniya's review

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

For a book so incredibly dense with action and heavy, deep world building, it felt like glimpsing a city through the window of a bullet train: fast enough for glimpses, rushing from one thing to the next.

I never got bored, but there was so much information and things moving, getting picked up and put down and thrown around, that it's a mystery I ended up finishing this book calmly instead of annoyed by all the loose ends. If anything, Last Sun feels like the longest prologue ever to an action-urban fantasy series. 

Still, though fast-paced narrative usually isn't for me, I'm tempted to know what happens next. I like the characters, as quick as I had to be to learn them all (and there are A Lot). Brand is my favorite. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder

welgan's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Trop young adult et trop centré sur l'action pour mes goûts de lecture actuels, je pense. La partie "romance" est très légère et manque d'introspection pour ce que j'aurais voulu, mais ne dénote pas dans l'ensemble. 
Il y a cependant des idées intéressantes dans le lore et les relations de personnages (j'ai bien aimé la relation d'Acolyte et la manière dont elle s'exprime entre Brand et Rune) ou la mise en scène et des personnages que j'aime beaucoup (Quinn et Cieran particulièrement), donc ce n'est pas impossible que je lise la suite si je peux me la procurer d'occasion ou en prêt. 

Je note aussi la quasi-absence de personnages féminins, au grand nombre de 0 dans les protagonistes principaux, et uniquement mère, domestique, ou soeur écervellée anorexique dans les personnages secondaires.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Torture

Le personnage principal est une victime de viol et cette partie de son histoire est importante et revient à plusieurs reprises dans la narration.

abelh's review

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail