Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

De gouden enclaves by Naomi Novik

50 reviews

gattolinos_nerdy_nook's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

I am surprised with where this book ended up going and how it concluded the series as a whole. It subverted all expectations I had, but not in  bad way. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I loved how different the world and rules were once we were outside the Scholomance. It was interesting to see how characters changed or did not change once they were in a different environment form the first two books.
There were some new characters introduced and the plot twists that happened in this book were so shocking that I had to put it down for a bit to digest what I had read and then had to go back to reading so I could get answers.

I think this book is a lot more character driven than the first two books. The book overall is still a mix of character and plot but I think how people are feeling and what they are doing because of that drives the book forward more. I feel like this book ended the series well and enjoyed reading each and everyone one of these books.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Violence, Grief, Body horror, Death, Torture, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, War, Kidnapping, Blood, and Child abuse

Minor: Sexual content

takarakei's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

Minus 1/4 star for the very slow start, I honestly think they could have seriously condensed down the first ~150 pages to half of that. I literally read the first 25-30% and it was so slow that I put it down and didn't pick it back up for over another month.

But then I read the rest in like 2 days - and honestly as the rest of this story unfolds I was in awe at the intricacy of the storytelling. This third and final book is definitely the one where all the little pieces of the puzzle come together so masterfully to tie everything together. You know when you get to that point in a series where everything just starts clicking, and things are being revealed that are just blowing your mind? I was screaming and squealing and just having such a good time. I also just absolutely adore El - I think she is honestly one of my favorite main characters ever. I love this series so much!

I am kinda mad Ophelia is just like... still there??? but otherwise, I loved the ending.

3/5 🌶️

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Torture, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Classism, Child abuse, War, and Violence

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

Torture in the sense of how Maw Mouths *work* IYKYK Child abuse - Orion's parents are literally the worst!

abookwormspov's review against another edition

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child death, War, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, Sexual content, Murder, Torture, Domestic abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Child abuse, and Body horror

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

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.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Blood, Abandonment, Alcohol, Body horror, Death of parent, Drug use, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Vomit, War, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, and Medical trauma

blissofalife's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-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

Could hardly put it down! Unlike the previous two books in the series, the stakes remain per high for the entire book. It doesn’t really feel like there’s a climax so much as several climaxes as El grows and gains an understanding of the nature of the enclaves. Lots of time spent on explanations. Ties the whole series up very nicely, and doesn’t leave any loose ends. Naomi clearly did a very thorough mapping of the series before beginning!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Cursing

Moderate: War, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Minor: Child death, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Classism, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Gore

kadtide's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Grief, and Torture

Moderate: Murder and Death

Minor: Death of parent, Classism, and Drug use

emilymia's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, and Body horror

Moderate: War

paper_elytra's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

The conclusion of the Scholomance series. Compelling and powerful, El's furious railing against the inequalities of society and power is tempered with understanding and a willingness to take uncomfortable action. While moments of humour shine through, this installment has an emotional depth and complexity that shows how much the characters have grown. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Torture

Moderate: Violence, Death, and Confinement

Minor: Sexual content

the_crooked_neighbor's review against another edition

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.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Child death, Death, Gore, Emotional abuse, Murder, Torture, and Violence

herasrevenge88's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense slow-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

3.0

I’m honestly kind of sad that I had to give this only three stars because I had such high hopes for this book. The first 50% of this book I was bored out of my mind but I just kept hoping that it was going to get better. It did get better. It really picked up and was really really good and made me laugh out loud a couple of times….for the last 50% of it. I feel like the first 50%. might’ve been better summarized in a paragraph or two so that way we could just jump into the story. It might’ve made for a really short book but at least I would not have had to sit through 200 pages of awful.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, Death, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Gaslighting, War, Child death, Gore, Body horror, and Genocide