Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Lovely War by Julie Berry

80 reviews

plainromance's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing and Sexual assault

jelliclecax's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

Warm and lovely! A perfect February read, even though I read it in January. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, and War

Minor: Racial slurs, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

shayna14's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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? Yes

5.0

this book caught me by surprise bc i don't like reading abt wars, but the greek mythology definitely made up for it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Slavery and Police brutality

lqvekanej's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War

Moderate: Mental illness and Sexual assault

mah454's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, and War

Moderate: Sexual violence

lrose02's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.5

I will have to say the last 100 pages of this book flew by as I was determined to know the characters fate. I am definitely happy with the ending. I loved the portrayal of all the gods. Aphrodite was so complex and I can definitely see her reflected in the two main female protagonists. I loved the female friendship between Hazel and Colette. I was slightly underwhelmed when James and Aubrey finally met but I do think the author sums it up in a perfect sentence. Ares is an ick but he is in a perfect position to be a morally grey character in a story cantered around a world war. Hades is treated so respectfully and the deaths are written so beautifully. I love the interaction between Aphrodite and Hades after the train. This book time far too long to finish but once I picked it up again I haven’t put it down. One of the best mythology retellings I’ve ever read and a beautiful romance. All of the POVs felt balanced and the emotional moments really hit home. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, and War

Moderate: Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

dwinn5's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad 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? No

4.75

Wow. It’s 1:13 AM, I have to be awake for work in 5 hours, and my heart is breaking right now. 

This book took me a second to get into, but as soon as it caught me, I was done for. I don’t usually go all in on the we-only-met-once-or-twice-and-then-were-separated-but-it-was-true-love thing, but a couple factors helped me over that hurdle here: 1) the time period and progression of romance back then in general, and 2) the urgency of war and everything that entails for people’s long-term plans. 

The author was brilliant to allow each of the (present) gods to offer their perspectives on the timeline of events- it really added some depth and breadth to the story and gave the reader a small amount of peace after tragedy (thank you, Hades). 

My main holdup was something about the execution of the chapters where it was just discussion between the gods- it didn’t capture my attention the way the rest of the book did, and the reveal of the final love story at the end caught me a little off guard; I think it could’ve unfolded a tiny bit more prior to the end. But regardless, I enjoyed that little twist as well. 

Something about this story transcended beyond being just a book to me, I can’t explain it. But I will definitely be thinking about this one for a while. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Medical trauma, and War

Moderate: Gore, Mental illness, and Grief

sophiegrubben's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

To my dearest sister, who lent me this book: yes I liked it. It's a good book! It just missed that little bit of je ne said quoi. 

I liked and felt the most for the characters that we spent the most time with: Hazel and James. That is not to say I didn't like Aubrey and Collette (although I liked Aubrey a bit more than Collette) but we simply didn't spend as much time with them or their romance. It felt just placed there at times. Hazel and James's story just seemed more fleshed out, more thought out and more lovely put on the page. 

Overall it was a very well written and researched book, but it missed a sprinkle of magic for me, especially in the Aubrey and Collette parts. I wanted more time with them and more care put into their characterisation. But not a bad book at all!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

val_theburrowofstories's review against another edition

emotional 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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, and War

Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Violence, and Grief

Minor: Infidelity

ruchaa's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

absolutely delicious

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and War