Reviews with content warning for Murder - One for My Enemy

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

One for My Enemy by Olivie Blake

54 reviews

filipateodoro's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

2.75

This book was a huge disappointment for me.

In the first chapters, I thought the stylistic choice to introduce the sets and characters like a play were very interesting. That also suited the very theatrical and borderline melodramatic writing, as well as the fact that there was a lot of "telling" and not much "showing". However, what I thought were stylistic choices became either non existent or unbearable.

At around 50% of the book, when the first shocking moment happens, the plot went so ballistic it felt like I was reading a parody. At a certain point, I just stopped reading and jokingly told my husband "There's so many

people dying and coming back to life

that it feels like I'm reading Naruto." I realise that this is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, but I feel like there's a limit to how much you can use this specific plot device. I felt like it completely removed any stakes the story had, especially since the magic isn't explained all that much. I'm ok with soft magic systems, I just don't think that meshed well with these plot choices, it kind of "broke" the world.

Anyway, it all got very convoluted, to be honest. At a certain point, there's so much going on

with magical contracts

that you could make a drinking game out of it. It was impossible for me to follow along what was going on in that office! I felt like I needed a cork board and string, but in a bad way not in a fun "let's play detective" sort of way!

The prose is undeniably beautiful at times, but again there's a lot of being told about things and almost nothing is shown to you, and this gets progressively worse as the book goes on. You're never left alone as a reader to make your own conclusions about the characters, the author's hand is always there.

By the time the characters I wanted to end up together got together, I didn't care anymore.

I can see how this book could be enjoyable to some people and why this author is popular. Unfortunately, in the end it just wasn't for me.

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angel__'s review against another edition

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dark mysterious

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

4.5

It was pretty good, however 'Masters o Death' was better.
Again a book with vibes>plot.
Sometimes confusing

and many deaths. The end is a little bit unsatisfying 'cause you don't know about all characters what the future brings.

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sashahc's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Just finished “One for my Enemy” by Olivie Blake. This is kind of like if Romeo and Juliet were about Russian mobster witches in New York City and the dead didn’t stay dead. Passion and revenge and scheming and family. Great world building. It would make a great TV series.

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aseel_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Definitely a character driven novel and only enjoyable if you are in the right mood for it, however, I was, and I loved it!! So many laughs, gasps, sad faces, just so good.

Content Warnings

chaptersofamylea's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

‘My daughters are diamonds. Nothing is more beautiful. Nothing shines brighter. And most importantly, nothing will break them.’

4 ⭐️

Oh how I adored this writing. A thrilling and morally grey Romeo and Juliette retelling. The dialogue was beautiful and heartbreaking and I loved the family dynamic’s. I just fell in love with this book. I haven’t read an Olivie Blake book before and I didn’t know what to expect I really enjoyed it. I was easily swept away and I just adore it all.

TWs: murder, suicide

Content Warnings

bookboxbabe's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad fast-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

5.0

i knew it was a romeo and juliet retelling and yet i didn’t think they would actually die

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krystlethegreat's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

I usually struggle with Olivie Blake books. She usually writes very - in my opinion - pretentious books, that make me feel stupid for all the uncommon words she uses.

This book though. This book was beautiful! Definitely not her typical prose; which was refreshing!

This book is all about relationships. The world building is all but non-existent. It's magical realism with the addition of witches and 1 fae. The magic system is not really explained. But the relationships are so well constructed and such the focus, that I didn't really miss the other things.

I was intimidated by the name chart at the front end of the book, but it was very easy to follow characters by their names and nicknames... if you have any experience with Slavic names and nicknames, it will be even easier.
Ex. Alexandra = Sashenka / Sasha

Overall, the beauty of the relationships was incredible. 🖤 I was entranced by this book and I hope to read more books of this nature from her in the future.

*Spice level = fade to black

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molzeus's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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ramunepocky's review

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“You are not incomplete because a piece of your heart is gone. You are you, an entire whole, all on your own. If you have loved and been loved, then you can only be richer for it- you don’t become a smaller version of yourself simply because what you once had is gone.”

this review is not spoiler free

This was my first Olivie Blake book even though I own most of her books and it was a very strong place to start. Her writing style is absolutely gorgeous and she has a real way of pacing and describing drama that makes it so enthralling. I loved this book so much!

I would have liked to have see a bit more character development and development of the character dynamic before we really got thrown into the thick of the drama, I especially would have liked to have seen Lev and Sasha’s relationship develop a bit more because whilst I was rooting for them and it was devastating for Sasha to have to experience Lev die like that, I would have liked to have seen a stronger bond develop first. I guess it’s just me being cynical about how quickly people can fall in love that makes me want that. The drama did also help with the character developments tbf, especially where Dima, Masha, Sasha and Roma were concerned, I feel like all the events that unfolded gave us a real glimpse into their characters and we got to see them change and suffer and grow from what happened. I also think that that helped me grow more attached and sympathetic to characters that I had not been as impartial to before.

The feuds between the families and the reasons behind the hatred was very interesting to learn about it and it was so unsurprising to find that it all boiled down to points of pride more than anything else. Pride is many people’s downfalls.

My favourite character was absolutely Lev. Was it because I kept picturing him as Lev from Haikyuu?? Perhaps. But also, he had such complete and utter golden retriever energy. He made me laugh. He was loyal. He was loving. He was just the absolute sweetest character, and I really felt for him being torn between his loyalty to his family and his brothers, and his feelings for Sasha as the enemy. I was absolutely distraught when Stas killed him because wtf. No. You can’t do that to my boy. But thank every god that his “enemies” brought him back. It was really sad though that he thought that Sasha was still dead when she was the other half of Masha’s plan and I was so happy when they finally got to reunite again. I also loved the fact that Lev had faith and belief in Masha simply because she reminded him of Dima and the way that he thought and planned, and because he worked out that the two of them had been in love with one another.

I also loved Dima a lot. I wasn’t sure about him at first because ofc we don’t really see much of him before BAM he’s put in a magical coma. But reading about his history with Masha and the two of them being (briefly) united before Roma stabbed Masha made me really warm up to him. It was extremely clear just how much he loved her. How much he would have sacrificed for her. And I mean, tbh, bit far to cut out her heart when she was dead to keep it safe, bit of a literal interpretation of what she said to him all those years ago, and I cannot imagine how vile it must have been to have been going to bury her heart and seeing it beating right there out of her chest, but I’m glad it made it clear to him that she was alive and that he could stop hurting. Dima’s story is as tragic as Masha’s tbh, and the fact he would have chosen her above his family if she’d given him the choice all those years ago shows how much he loves to, and to be able to do what he did in the end, to stab both her heart and himself, to follow her into the afterlife, was devastating, but it was clear he could not live without her and he would have blindly followed her anywhere.

Masha was a very complicated character for me. I didn’t love or hate her. She was a very complex character to understand and very interesting as she always had motives on top of motives and kept her true intentions hidden at every turn. She was extremely smart and calculated in the risks she took and worked everything out to a tee. She was also very ruthless, even before Dima carried her heart and it wasn’t in her chest, she was always trying to swallow her emotions and refused to show a single one of them on her face despite being in constant pain. I do truly believe that she always acted with her sisters in mind though and her hope to find Dima again. It was literally heartbreaking when the two of them died together at the end, but getting to see them reunited and together on the other side made me sob so hard. The two of them had been in so much pain their entire lives due to their parents and I’m glad that they finally got their peace and to be together. It’s what they deserved.

I also had very mixed feelings on Roma, I wasn’t his biggest fan to begin with, but I started to feel bad for him as I imagine it would be hard to grow up in a household where eit is clear that you are not the favourite or cared for as much as your siblings and to always live in their shadows. I absolutely called him being the one behind what had been happening to aggravate the feud, especially as he was so pushy about Lev getting involved and it was pretty much confirmed for me the second that Dima refused to tell Masha who was actually behind it because “she would kill them” even though we didn’t get actual confirmation that it was Roma until a bit later. I also thought it was hilarious when Sasha was “haunting” him and gaslighting him into believing his father was responsible, it was pretty funny tbh and he did deserve it given that he killed Masha, killed Stas and was, by extension, responsible for Lev and Masha’s deaths too. I did end up feeling bad for him though as it was evident that his guilt about what happened was really weighing on him and driving him to insanity. It was nice in the epilogue too to learn that he’d worked with the faery whose name I can’t remember in his law firm, twas nice to know that he was beginning to turn things back around for himself.

I have more to say but my brain has officially left the building so yes.

Overall, I enjoyed this book; it had witches, it had interesting family and character dynamics, it had drama and suspense, and I could certainly see the Romeo and Juliet element. Was it my favourite retelling? No. Would I read it again?? Absolutely. And you can guarantee that if Fairyloot ever bring back their special edition of it, I’ll be buying it in a heartbeat bc the colour scheme has a chokehold on me.

Content Warnings

tenderbench's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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