Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek

13 reviews

abby_can_read's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

📖
I had high hopes for this book. I think this lived up to my hopes. I liked the worldbuilding and the lore and the magic systems. I liked the relationship between Liska and The Leszy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Violence

Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Animal death

callistag1's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Death, Violence, Suicide, and Body horror

Minor: Death of parent, Grief, Sexism, Vomit, Sexual content, and Blood

erwikka's review

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad 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

3.75

I’m not crying at 1 am you are! When I heard this was Howls Moving Castle with Polish lore I couldn’t pick it up fast enough. I’m happy to admit that it lives up to the Howl’s comparison. I throughly enjoyed this one. It felt like you were in a fairytale and those are some of my favorites I also love the Polish names. Pretty sure this book and the ending will be sitting in my feels for a while and you gotta love that. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, and Animal death

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

ghostlyprince's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-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? Yes

5.0

haven't been this distraught over a book since grade eight I'm in agony I'm in mourning I'm

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Suicide

Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, Religious bigotry, Animal cruelty, Blood, Colonisation, and Abandonment

Minor: Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Child death

*There is a scene where someone poisons their cow on purpose to expose another character but it's the only on page depiction of animal harm/cruelty *There is a scene that implies a character is in a abusive marriage

folkofthebook's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective 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

4.25

“You are not a monster, Liska Radost. You are sunlight, and you breathe life into everything you touch.”

beauty in the beast meets howl's moving castle with much polish folklore & cultural influence and a whole lots of magic & forest 💚

there are lots of cozy cottagecore vibes and its a slower pace standalone, but it's an impressive debut novel. the magic system was intriguing with its interweaving of folklore creatures, and i found myself surprised at some revelations. there was a solid romance with some fun banter and a surprisingly charming found family. shoutout to the queer rep as well!

it was bittersweet but very touching, and i look forward to more stories from Poranek.

“There is a thing we do,” the Leszy says, “where we rearrange ourselves, cutting off pieces here and there to fit a mold that was never meant for us. I know something of that. But becoming the Driada’s warden taught me one thing: if the world had not prepared a place for you, you must take up a hammer and chisel and carve one out for yourself.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Grief and Death of parent

robin_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

3.75

This is for fans or romantasy and The Witcher series for sure. The audiobook was well narrated. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Violence

theespressoedition's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death, Body horror, and Blood

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Murder, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Suicide

chasinggrace's review

adventurous emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This is a stunning, cozy book. The Polish folklore was detailed, the sentient house was whimsical, and the characters’ personalities were palpable. While slow-paced, I was never bored. This is 5⭐️ not because it’s action-packed or never-before-seen, but because it’s heartfelt and beautiful. 

the only thing I would change is I’d give this story a happier ending 😭 I was in tears at the end and the epilogue did NOT help. When did cozy fantasy = death and heartbreak?? In my head Eliasz is alive in the House Under the Rowan Tree, idc.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Bullying, and Grief

sarah_royal04's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Blood

katievallin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

3.5

I liked the vibes: the sentient forest and house, the feeling of home, the found-family, the gradual romance. I liked the characters and the very obvious similarities to Beauty and the Beast.

I didn't like the body horror

and human sacrifice.

Those definitely made it seem more dark and evil than it started off being. I also feel conflicted about the clash between the church and paganism.

Also the climax was very sad, and I did not appreciate that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Grief, Murder, Religious bigotry, Blood, Violence, Body horror, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Medical content

Minor: Animal death and Sexual content