Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

War by Laura Thalassa

33 reviews

aahrobot's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed Pestilence, so I was quite excited to read War. This one was pretty decent; I’m still excited to read the last two in the series. I enjoyed the main characters pretty well, too. Overall, a good book. Personally, I am not super into fantasy, but I’m trying! And this series has been a great stepping stone for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Grief, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Death of parent, Rape, Xenophobia, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Sexual content, Vomit, and War

Moderate: Pregnancy

cdmkylo's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Death, Sexual content, and War

Minor: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Child death, Death of parent, Vomit, and Pregnancy

lannahreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

This book felt like a repeat of Pestilence. Almost the exact same type of story with the same type of characters.  I'm hoping to see more with the next book 🙏🏼

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Vomit

queerloras's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

3.5

Oh my god, I wanted to hate this book so much more than I did. Like, some of the writing was fucking hysterical ("only a woman with a vagina the size of a crater could fit War's cock", anyone?!), and boo to the reforming of the villain (way more attractive as the Horseman, rather than the man), but. I'm now going to read the rest of the series.

Also, the comparisons to Khal Drogo are so it. That's exactly what he's like.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Genocide, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Medical content, Death, Sexual violence, Animal death, Grief, Physical abuse, Rape, Deportation, Slavery, Cannibalism, Child death, Colonisation, Murder, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, War, Body horror, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, and Pregnancy

viktoriann's review against another edition

dark hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Blood, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Vomit, and War

madoav's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.0

Okay, I liked the premise of this book a bit better than Pestilence, and I didn't think Pestilence was bad! I just found the start to War and Miriam's relationship a bit more easy to grasp than the start of Pestilence and Sara's. I enjoyed this book a lot! I got really annoyed at both Miriam and War at many points in the book, but I especially liked how the two were able to make up, and how War himself actually wanted to make meaningful change. I thought Miriam was a bit needlessly stupid towards the end of the book (the man could heal himself for crying out loud), but I'm glad they got their happy ending. I'm excited to start the third book.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Death, Violence, Child death, and War

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

thejadylady's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Gun violence, Cursing, Body horror, Sexual content, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death, Gore, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy

Minor: Vomit, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Death of parent

kirahaycock21's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-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

4.25

I thought there was a little too much back and forth on and off again between the main characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Death, Genocide, Grief, and Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Child death, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Cursing, Kidnapping, and Blood

Minor: Animal death and Death of parent

mattiedancer's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-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

3.75

Writing: 3.25⭐️/5 

Alright, so the writing is serviceable. I liked it in the sense that it didn’t get in the way. I did feel like the pacing was a bit off for this one. I noticed a lot more exposition starting to creep in. It felt a bit less polished. Overall, though, it stood out less than her first book in this series (Pestilence) strictly because it felt a bit like a carbon copy in certain sections.

Characters: 3.5⭐️/5

Above I said that the writing felt a bit too familiar. So did the characters. Now, War is completely different than Pestilence. Miriam feels a little too similar to Sara. As the novel picked up, she definitely struck out on her own, gaining her own sense of self. However, by then the similarities were embedded into my brain too much, and it became harder to notice their differences. I did appreciate getting a few more side characters in this one as well, even if some of them lacked a bit of depth.

Plot: 3.75⭐️/5 

The plot is fun – and, you guessed it, overall very similar to Pestilence. All in all, I did enjoy the differences, loving how Miriam pushed against her fate as War’s wife. I loved how he, in his differences from Pestilence, forced her to move in different directions. I will say the end felt a bit too pulled out. Everything felt so over, and for everyone to come back to kill War just felt a bit contrived, as though Thalassa was trying too hard to make the ending similar to Pestilence.

Who Should Read This Book? 

• Fans of ACOTAR and dystopian societies
• Someone looking for a romance with an intriguing plot
• Those who like fantasy/apocalyptic novels that centre on romance
• Readers who like (or don’t mind) a bit of spice, but not just spice
• Those who liked and loved the first book (but maybe take a break between so it’s not too fresh)

Content Warnings? 

Death, murder, murder, sexual content, physical abuse, emotional abuse, kidnapping, fire, fire injury, gore, blood, injury, injury detail, gun violence, violence, animal death, torture, grief, body horror, sexual harassment, sexual assault, war, 

Post-Reading Rating:  3⭐️/5

I didn’t love how the ending came about. Very contrived and pushed towards predictability, when it didn’t have to be.

Final Rating: 3.5⭐️/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual harassment, Violence, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, War, Blood, Murder, Cursing, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Toxic friendship

ashwood_15's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and War

Minor: Sexual assault