Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland

16 reviews

annieecusack's review

adventurous mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Genocide

Minor: Addiction and Rape

lindan's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! 
Each character has their own POV so the reader gets to understand their backstory gradually while each character is meshing with the team dynamic. Corland keeps the reader engaged and theorizing how the book will end by not letting the reader have all of the pieces to the puzzle. For the most part, the reader only knows as much about the characters as they let each other know. I very clearly saw the characters going on a journey through the realm, the way the travel periods and lodgings were set up allowed for the characters to become closer to each other as well as the reader. The overall pacing of the story was timed quite well, I never became disinterested at any point along the way. 
I definitely did not see the twist at the end coming! I kept trying to speculate what it would be, but none of my theories were solid enough. As it turned out, they were all wrong! Corland set up the next book seamlessly. 
I am most excited to see what happens to the character in the next book! I hope that some reconciliation happens in the crew! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing

Moderate: Death, Violence, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction

jsayger's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Gore, Violence, Blood, and War

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, and Kidnapping

Minor: Sexual assault

misterwisp's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.5

Five Broken Blades!! So intense...so dark....so much with mysterious backstories and conflicted motivations. It's pretty epic. 
The story follows six people (the Five Broken Blades of the title journey with an extra character) who have been brought together to commit righteous vengeance upon their king. Over the course of them travelling to meet up and then travelling to get to the king you gradually find out everyone's backstories and motivations, and there is occasional action. 
It sets up everyone pretty well. The backstories are mostly compelling and interesting. It's about an even split for sympathetic characters and characters who just seem like bad humans it was hard to muster any empathy for. The writing is very good at evoking who these people are and what motivates them. These people can't decide how much they trust each other so there is a bunch of interpersonal drama. 
There is a lot of dark stuff like indentured servitude, genocide and murder. The world is asian inspired and interesting enough. Despite a lot of the book being interpersonal conflicts and character backstory it still feels like it flows smoothly and keeps a fast pace. 
I really enjoyed it until the end. Without going into spoilers, the way it ends feels more about setting up the next book than paying off anything from this book. There wasn't much sense of conclusion. So that was a bit of a let down. 
I am still left wanting to read the sequel and found this one worth trying even if I would have preferred a more satisfying ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Gore, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, and Alcohol

Take the content warning at the front of the book seriously if you don't want to read about those things it lists.

grayscale08's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Confinement, Drug abuse, Infertility, Vomit, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

taryn_g's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Minor: Animal death and Cursing

mnemosyne139's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

4.0

I had a fun time reading this, even if it isn't a masterpiece. Each character had something I liked, but I definitely liked some more than others. The dynamics were nice, though I wish we got more of them interacting as a group and not just pairs.

I'm also sad we won't get to see Tiyung get to keep becoming a part of the group in the next book, but I am hoping we get to see some of him in prison because he was one of my favs

I did feel like the author was too heavy-handed with making Aeri seem suspicious, to the point that it was really obvious her Father had to be the one sabotaging the group. I didn't know he would end up being the king, but I had thought it at least once as a possibility. I actually thought it would end up being the other brother who died. And it was obvious she had a relic from the beginning.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction

lakinglaze's review

adventurous mysterious 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

5.0

This book was fantastic! It’s fast-paced, the chapters are short and written wonderfully in the different voices of each point-of-view, the action constantly keeps you on your toes, and the characters are incredibly likable despite being desperate liars. I loved every second of it! I need Tiyung protected at all costs! Can’t wait to read the next book! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

chrisscorkscrew's review

adventurous tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This is a ripping adventure yarn with a lot going for it - it is fast-paced, there is good world-building and plenty of action - but it’s quite poorly written (not much depth and lots of telling rather than showing) and one thing drove me absolutely mad.  The main characters were paired off in an unnaturally neat way and as the book was written in the first person from all their perspectives,  there were endless narrative references to them thinking about each other or fancying each other throughout the book which was a real shame.  

My favourite part of the whole book were the giant attacking birds near the beginning - they were something cool and fresh feeling and I  was far more interested in them than the rather hackneyed romantic tropes the book descended into (although thankfully spice itself was minimal).

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

codenamemomnextdoor's review

adventurous funny tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

Five Broken Blades is a fantastic books from Mai Corland. It’s a fast paced fantasy filled with a myriad of characters that are all seeking freedom. Freedom from servitude, freedom from guilt, freedom from their pasts. They’re all playing a game, but who is the game master?

I absolutely loved this book and I cant’t wait to read Four Ruined Realms. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, and Death

Minor: Drug use, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail