Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

78 reviews

ethan_g_r's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense slow-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: Torture

mirandaleighhhh's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

I have so many swirling thoughts about this book, I'll need to return to this review later. 4.5 stars might not be enough, this might be a 5 star read... Every moment Hobb spends building these characters and this story, brick by brick, is worth it. You can sink into the story and grasp each character's thought process, even if you wish they weren't doing what they are doing. Hobb is a fantastic writer and I cannot wait to see where all the seeds she has constantly sown will grow and lead to. And the magic system is fascinating and constantly taking unexpected turns.

I am GUTTED for Fitz. Absolutely gutted. Pain pain pain pain pain! Constantly. Except for the brief weeks of love and joy he experienced.

It's enjoyable to read about a male main character written by a woman. The relationships and love stories play out in a much more relatable and layered fashion than many like this I have read by a male author.

Regal makes me FURIOUS. I am a bit surprised that so far, Regal seems to be a straight-up evil character. There is not much room to consider him to be morally grey like some of the other unsavory characters.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and War

searchandrescueteam's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The second of a trilogy is always a treat: you’ve read the first and want more, and you know if you like this one, there’s at least one more!
Now the central character is an adult - and the complexities of his relationships are ever more tangled.  
The matter of loyalty and allegiance at odds with other strongly held values is a recurrent theme here - and, as in life, unresolvable without compromise.
The twists and turns of the plot were enough to keep me reading to the last page … and wanting more!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Sometimes a distressing read, if the reader feels empathy for the central character. Worth it - to see our daily complexities in a different way.

karlin0336's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It's books like this that make me question whether any of the books I've rated five stars in the past really were five star books.
 This was an emotional rollercoaster, to say the very least.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Gore, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, and Pregnancy

vampires's review against another edition

4.75

i can't think of what to rate this other than five stars but i'm sure that if i incorporate the beginning and middle parts into my rating more then it wouldn't be five stars but i read this so fast that it's all a blur and the last part was so batshit (/positive) i just .......

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Dementia, Murder, and War

lastlostgirl's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Every word written about the Fool was my favorite word in this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Torture, and Violence

chthoniclamb's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-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

4.75

Reading this was like revising old friends from book one in the series. The main character has grown from a child to a young adult.  As such, he acts with annoying selfishness at times, which has me yelling at him and co plaining about him "letting" the antagonists win. He still is an earnest and (neutral) GOOD person. Hobb did a fantastic job showing how people's problems become more complex as they grow

, especially so for Fitz, who was born a royal bastard, blessed with both lauded and  stigmatized magic, and thrust into the responsibility of managing court intrigue

.

 I've enjoyed meeting new friends who I will absolutely revisit in the next book and probably revisit in the next 14. Before I started this trilogy, I thought there was no way I was going to read EVERTHING in the Realm of the Elderlings universe. How did people do it?? Now, I understand. We love getting emotionally wrecked by Robin Hobb. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

I can't rate or review this now, this book has left me an emotional wreck.  When I'm feeling a bit more rational, I'll come back and do this properly. (02/05/2024)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content and War

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

brynalexa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? No

4.0

Slow to start but worth it in the end. I’m unsatisfied by the ending but that just makes me all the more eager to pick up the next book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Miscarriage, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content and Slavery

ayealba's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and War