Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

179 reviews

emilytrnr's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

tl;dr it gets much better after the cop/murder investigation is over, and in true SJM fashion, she twisted me around like a corkscrew in the last 200ish pages. Still not convinced I like the modern-tech fantasy world.

I wasn’t sure about this at first. I started last October and couldn’t get past the first few pages. In the wake of TOG it just felt empty. I grew to really like the characters, and was able to be more surprised by plot points in this book than her other series because there are fewer spoilers floating around. I think the romantic tension was executed near-perfectly. One thing I thought I was missing from this book compared to others

were meaningful friendships, but I was proven wrong in the end. I’m obsessed that Bryce and Hunt got vengeance. I assumed she’d have power after all, but not like that.

I didn’t love that the first 60% or so was a magical murder mystery. Thrillers just don’t do it for me as much. But the last 40% really picked up steam for me and got me to fall for the characters, world, and story more. That said, I could go without the cell phones, emails, laptops, “magi screens,” etc. - although I do understand in the end how they impacted the story.

SJM does it again!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Gun violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Abandonment

etaypoe's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Violence, Xenophobia, and Gun violence

Moderate: War

avialaeleigh's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective 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? No

5.0

Honestly at first I wasn't sure how to feel about this book. Especially with it being fantasy but in a modernish setting with technology and modern weapons, but I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed the story. 

I definitely wasn't expecting a lot of the plot twists and surprise endings. Bryce is one of my favorite female characters in a fantasy novel. She is objectively the epitome of a dumb party girl but she is also a fucking badass and I can't even begin to explain how happy that combination makes me for some reason. 

Also he relationship with Ruhn and Hunt and the sass between them all is just amazing. And the enemies to lovers between Bryce and Hunt is *chefs kiss* one of my favorite tropes. And they do it so well. Plus we have the whole golden retriever black cat relationship as well as two broken people healing each other which is also one of my favorites. 

Also fuck the whole slave thing, that's ridiculous, people shouldn't be able to own other people that are able to make their own decisions and think for themselves. Otherwise I liked that this was different enough from SJMs other series but also similar enough to not be a weird read. Cannot wait to start the next book in the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Blood, Racism, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Body horror, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Sexism, Slavery, Mental illness, and Torture

pastellasilver's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense 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

4.5

Sarah J. Maas hat wie üblich einen großen Epos angefangen, der stark auf Chrakteren und ihren Beziehungen aufbaut. Bryce und Danika verbindet eine tiefe Freundschaft, die dem Buch einen riten Faden gibt und bei der ich nur deshalb nicht grün vor Neid werde, weil es in meinem Leben eine Danika gibt.
Ich mochte das Buch sehr gerne. Die Trauerbewältigung der Charaktere fühlt sich real und ebenso tragisch an. Das Buch hat viele Stellen, an denen die Trauer eine zentrale Rolle spielt, die ich persönlich schwer zu lesen fand. Dennoch waren diese Stellen ebenso gut, wie der Rest des Buches.
Mir persönlich war jedoch manchmal die sexuelle Spannung im Buch zu viel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Death, Blood, Classism, Racism, Murder, Slavery, Cursing, Gun violence, Alcoholism, and Drug use

Moderate: Mental illness, War, and Bullying

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

haj2296's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence

Moderate: Suicide

jackiepreston's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Death, Blood, Drug use, Grief, and Gore

Moderate: War, Torture, and Violence

ashleynp24's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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? Yes

4.75

I absolutely loved this book. It’s so different from previous SJM novels and I loved she tried the mystery genre out while still having that fantasy element. 

The single reason I’m giving it a 4.75 is because I felt like there was a lot of romance between the two protagonists but it was such a slow burn for the whole book until the end when the climax hit. I wish there’d been just a little more before that point. 

The ending had me sobbing uncontrollably. Danika and Bryce’s friendship during the drop was so special and I loved how at the end there’s closure with the rest of the pack. My biggest sob fest was for LeLe sacrificing herself.

Overall I loved the book and am excited to start the second to see where it goes from there. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Drug use, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Body shaming, Sexism, Death, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Grief, and Drug abuse

larajgriff1's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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

I enjoyed this book a lot.  It reminded me of the Anita Blake books by Laurell K Hamilton and I loved those in high school.  However I am giving this book 4 stars cause I just really hate how LONG Maas's books are.  I do not need to be reading something that could double as a bludgeoning weapon!  Also just the nonchalant comments of looking at someone's boobs, ass, pecs... someone might enjoy it, I do not, so it knocked it down for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Blood, Bullying, Gore, Torture, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Classism, Animal cruelty, Grief, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Murder, Suicide attempt, Addiction, and Gun violence

emr2220's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Grief, Slavery, Addiction, and Death

Moderate: Suicide, Gore, Violence, Gun violence, and Alcoholism

kelseydear's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

This book will put you through the wringer. There are so many unexpected twists and turns; I felt as though I was constantly on the edge of my seat! It’s not overly spicy. There are only a few moments of tension between characters and one intimate scene, nothing too scandalous, however. Looking forward to the next book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Grief, War, Suicide attempt, Murder, Slavery, Medical trauma, Death, Gun violence, Drug use, and Sexual content