Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

De gouden enclaves by Naomi Novik

16 reviews

katy_bee's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad 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

3.75

I've raced through this series, rather like a mawmouth. I've seen in other reviews that there are issues with the writing style- lots of telling rather than showing- and I agreed. The chosen one trope is very much present so if that's not your thing, beware. But I just really enjoyed them. I got swept up in the world and El's journey. The first half was definitely more page turning. Things slowed a little in the middle but I wanted to see what happened to the characters and have the mystery of the enclave attacks solved and it all came together very satisfyingly. 

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thequiltyreader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

The book was OK. I felt it a really slow read, often feeling I was slogging through the story. I also found, like the other two books in the series, there was a lot of repetition which didn't add to the story but added to the slog to get through the book. This booked picked up exactly where the second one finished and as much as the second one ended on a bit of a cliff hanger I think it could have benefited from just finishing at that point. I did like the one big revelation but felt that could have been built into earlier books and didn't need a whole book dedicated to it.

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audbaum's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I loved this book. I found the conclusion satisfying, and the way that the characters behave is well-explained based on who they are as people in a way that I find good and important.
I had anticipated that somehow Orion would return, to the point where I wasn’t super shocked by the ending twist of book 2. I think the reveals about what makes enclaves was really interesting. I think Orion being a maw-mouth in juman form was interesting and well-foreshadowed, to the point where I had thought “oh, like a maw mouth kinda” without actually thinking that had happened. Admittedly, I am easy to fool in that I don’t often see twists coming.

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abookwormspov's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • 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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wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

It's been a while since I read book 2 in the series and I contemplated re-reading before picking this volume up because when I initially tried to read it I was overwhelmed.  Book 2 leaves on a cliffhanger and book 3 starts right after and so you see the immediate events and it was a little difficult to jump right it.

I thought that the series was quite solid.  Book 3 really tied it all together and bits that were resolved were introduced in book 1 so it was quite good closure to see actions that have consequences and a resolution all together.

Some of the reveals were also top notch, since there's (in hindsight) a lot of foreshadowing but to be able to put it all together wasn't something I managed.  I don't know if it was because of the gap between the books and it would have been obvious if I read them in closer succession but I was satisfied with how it came together.

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yourpal's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

A great finale to the series! I honestly think it would’ve been more beneficial had the book been longer as it kind of felt like the author was bored by the end and rushed through the big parts but good none the less! 

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brianneh's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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


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the_crooked_neighbor's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective 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

A great finale to a great series. I loved the book. It was a satisfying conclusion that matched the tone of the series. I could write a million words on how amazing this was without fully getting it across. Suffice it to say this is a series I will happily revisit and find new things each time. Mind the trigger warnings but I highly recommend it.

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tania_mybookishsecret's review against another edition

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

4.0


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keen's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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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