Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Angels Before Man by rafael nicolás

20 reviews

bree343's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, and Abandonment

fanboyriot's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

Read For:

✓ Slow Burn

✓ Forbidden Love 

✓ Religious Themes

✓ Hurt/Comfort (mostly hurt)

✓ Amazing Character Development

˗ˏˋ ★ REVIEW ★ ˎˊ˗

A bit of a slow start for me, it took me several chapters to get into the writing style but after that I really enjoyed it, the author did a great job with the descriptions and character development.  Part one of the book was really good.  The storyline, the trust building between Lucifer and Michael was so wholesome.  And while it might have taken me a moment for me to get into the story the characters I loved right away; especially Lucifer.  He was my favorite.

Overall, it was a really beautifully written story; but also VERY emotional and a bit unhinged, in the second part of the book.  It was written really well but damn, was not expecting all of that.

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Angst Level: 💧💧💧💧💧

POV: Third Person

Release Date: 24, September 2023

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

bonriki's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Murder, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Rape, and Suicide attempt

gooseberry420's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

booklix's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad 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

4.5

Waouh.
I just don't know what to think. Do not read this book if your are Christian.(I do not know how the book wasn't already banned.)

 The prose was really whimsical and detailed: every paragraph was as worth reading and necessary.


The  entire ride was just so emotional: Lucifer felt so "human", his struggles and questions and just his character we as so well written.

I really bound with the characters

when Gabriel was to tured by the fallen angel I was devastated

the ending of Lucifer and Michael we as also heartbreaking, I just want to know what happens next

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, and Murder

ina_pages's review

dark emotional 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

4.75

I’d give this 5 stars if not for very minor grammar issues that I believe were addressed in the rewrite. I hope to get my hands on that since I also heard that new scenes were added to it.

This book pulled me out of a reading slump that lasted MONTHS. Rafael’s masterful prose will have you gripped from start to finish and will have you falling in love with characters literally against your own will. It was heartbreaking enough to read about a character you knew was doomed from the start, but this book makes you feel so much for Lucifer that watching his decent from grace was just that much worse.

Highly recommend this book to anyone who’s interested. The author lists down a set of trigger warnings at the start but they are only really applicable in the second half of the book. 

If you want a feel good, slow burn, romance-y book then maybe pick this up and just stop after part one (like skip the interlude even) but if you have the headspace for it part two is an intense rollercoaster ride of emotions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

brdiaz1123's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cannibalism and Toxic friendship

ash_tree's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, and Murder

theminnesotawitch's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

A book that blew me away. The prose is beautiful, and the style changes as the protagonist becomes more obsessed with himself. A queer retelling of the fall of angels.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail

a_crow_in_the_sky's review

challenging slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol