Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos

10 reviews

katclaybaugh's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a really fun read. The world building was excellent. It broke out of a lot of the cliches of the genre. I really look forward to getting the next book in the series! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Murder, and Classism

Minor: Drug use, Sexual assault, Violence, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

This was all fairly mild and definitely YA appropriate.

jenny_librarian's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

Je ne sais pas trop quoi penser de ce livre. Le côté politique est intéressant, mais comme absolument aucun personnage n’est attachant, ça m’a empêché de ressentir quelque empathie que ce soit pour eux.

J’ai l’impression qu’Ophélie est demi-romantique, et Thorn présente plusieurs traits autiste. Est-ce voulu? Je n’en sais rien, mais c’est ce qui m’a semblé le plus captivant dans ma lecture.
Malheureusement, tous les personnages sont froids et la plupart sont dénués de caractérisation outre des défauts très superficiels qui deviennent leur entière personnalité.

Je ne sais pas non plus si le sous-entendu est intentionnel, mais les “provinciaux” semblent avoir un accent québécois et ça me rend mal à l’aise. Tout comme les références à la religion animiste, qui est fondamentalement liés à l’histoire coloniale et aux peuples africains et autochtones — pour la plupart décimés par les colonies françaises… M’enfin, c’est peut-être seulement mon interprétation de la chose.

Je ne sais pas encore si je vais lire la suite. Ce sont de gros livres avec peu d’action qui demandent beaucoup de travail cérébral pour peu de résultats.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexism, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

penofpossibilities's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicide, Torture, Abortion, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Genocide, Infertility, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Vomit

hanahf's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death

amazelan's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism

Minor: Drug abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, Abandonment, and Alcohol

skudiklier's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

Honestly, I just couldn't get into this one. I might have even DNF'd it if it hadn't been an audiobook. It was interesting enough on some levels, and I cared about what happened to Ophelia, but in some ways it just felt like a bunch of sad/frustrating/confusing things happening over and over. Like every once in a while the situation would change but it never got better, and I just didn't feel very engaged on most levels. It's well-written I think but it's just not for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Blood, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicide

harmony822's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

hermithailey's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

spearly's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

It’s often said of old buildings that they have a soul. On Anima, the ark where objects come to life, old buildings tend mostly to become appallingly bad-tempered.

A Winter's Promise is the fantastical first novel in The Mirror Visitor series, and takes place in a magical, post-rupture society, where the world is split into Arks. Or MC Ophelia is from an ark called Anima, and has the power to read the history of objects through touch, as well as travel short distances through mirrors. The story begins with an unexpected arranged marriage between her and gentleman named Thorn, who is from another Ark called The Pole.

There are very few books I have read that read to me like poetry, and yet, I was absorbed in every word. Dabos does an incredible job with her world-building, without inundating the beginning of the story with detail after detail. Rather, she drops us into the middle of world and lets it share itself chapter after chapter.

Likewise, I was no less impressed with Dabos' characterization. Everyone felt so distinct, so complex, so real, and Ophelia was an incredible character to follow throughout this journey. A lot of YA fantasy series have some sort of 16 year-old Mary-Sue character who knows nothing and yet is still somehow the key to saving the world. Not Ophelia. I mean, yes, she's powerful, but she is so unremarkable in many ways. She even

spends half the book disguised as a mute servant so as not to arouse suspicion of her arrival at The Pole.

Thorn, Ophelia's fiancé is a puzzle, that's for certain. I couldn't get a read on him, even when it seemed his true intentions were revealed (

and, sap that I am, I will just say I might have enjoyed a bit of clarity in this relationship before the novel ended, but thankfully the series came out in 2013, so I am already onto the next book

) I don't know how a man so determined to stay stoic and cold at all costs could have made my heart flutter, but he did. Sue me.

Hopefully he doesn't turn out to be a disappointment. Because, once again, SAP THAT I AM, i need a bit of romance in my YA reading. Well, in all my reading, really. Hopefully it pans out!

That said,

Ophelia's inner dialogue when she speaks of love and romance is making me thing she might be aromantic. Possibly asexual, too. I haven't read enough of the series to know for certain, and while I'm always happy to read books with more representation, I will say I would be a bit disappointed if that were the case, and I feel Ophelia and Thorn are being set up for what could be a great, slow-burn love-story.

I guess we'll see!

The only reason this isn't a 5 star for me is the pacing. As quickly as it went by, I still felt like nothing much has happened in the first novel. By some other reviews I've read, it seems it picks up in book 2!

I can see why this series might have been one i passed over when it came out 8 years ago, but I feel like I'm appreciating it a lot more than my teenage self would have. I'm glad to know I still have 2.5 books (I'm halfway through [book:The ​Missing of Clairdelune|41953346]). It's truly unlike anything I've read before!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Death of parent

mxrumphius's review against another edition

slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Blood and Murder

Minor: Child death, Sexual assault, Suicide, Xenophobia, and Police brutality