Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Championship by Alethea Faust

6 reviews

galleytrot's review

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

4.75

FIRST READ: Apr 2024 
SECOND READ: Oct 2024

FORMAT: Digital, Audio

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 5 / 5⭐ 

TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 4.5 / 5⭐
FINAL – OVERALL: 4.75 / 5 ⭐ 

In this book, Olbric’s attempt at his Transmutation Mastery spell is not quite ready but on the right track, and he’s fairly confident of the component that he’s missing that should get the job done, thus facilitating the need for a Wizard’s Tournament where his conduit will become the prize for the champion. The timing of the tournament couldn’t be better, with public perception of the Crux having suffered a massive hit, but the tournament receives some additional royal interest that the wizards weren’t anticipating. Meanwhile, the search for Diran goes ever on, but a lucky break of divination gives them a brand-new lead – one leading to a high-stakes assignment that must be handled with complete secrecy. 

Man, this series keeps getting better and better with every book. I found myself brutally impatient with my slower-reading Buddy Read partner, because I was absolutely glued to these pages but I wasn’t allowed to consume it in the way I needed to. For most of the run of this book, my friend and I formed theories and speculations over what might be going on, what seemed like red herrings, who could or couldn’t be trusted, and so on. We were both fully engaged with every chapter, checking in with each other as we went. Characters we hadn’t been totally sold on before have now become old favourites, growing on us more and more. 

I loved to see some chapters in this book written from a perspective aside from Dom’s. I enjoyed that this book seemed to break away from the pattern that the previous two set, where the lion’s share was more-or-less dedicated to showcasing kinky spice, with the final bit sprinkling in some actual (and pleasantly surprising) plot movement. What I’m not so happy about is how this book veered hard away from ending on a satisfying wrap-up, instead choosing cliffhangers. Naturally, I’ve read this third book in the series when the fourth has yet to be released, so now I just don’t know what to do with my sorry, despondent self as I wait. It’s an absolute travesty. 

This book has representation for pansexuals, polyamory, and nonbinary and intersex individuals. Multiple characters are non-white, and others are sentient, non-human fantasy races. 

The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.

This book contains:

xenophobia; bullying; PTSD (nightmares, crippling trauma response, flashbacks); chronic injury; sexism and misogyny; mention of consensual knife play, blood; competitive violence, weaponized magic resulting in injuries (bumps and bruises, strains) and psychological harm; breach of trust under hypnosis; sex-related injury (tearing, bleeding); transphobia; mention of past child abuses (heavy-handed discipline, property destruction); mention of past sex trafficking of a minor; and, mentions of past sexual violence and abuses.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Trafficking

Moderate: Bullying, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

wildatheart1339's review

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual violence

Moderate: Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, Outing, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia, Torture, Blood, Trafficking, and Kidnapping

abookwormspov's review

adventurous emotional 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

5.0

oh my god this is my favorite one yet. Olbric <3<3<3<3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Trafficking

hisashiburi's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Dysphoria

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

shinyfox's review

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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

Was a 4.5 star rating but I have to knock 1/2 a star off for the sudden pov changes every few chapters between Dom and Olbric. The prior books have been Dom's pov and then I didn't see any clear heads up that we swapped to Olbric and I got really confused and disoriented. It took me out of the book and put a damper on my experiance. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Cursing, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Sexism

erkietheturkey's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Violence

Moderate: Cursing, Rape, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Medical content