Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

4 reviews

cdoubet's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, War, Genocide, Death, Physical abuse, Confinement, Grief, Medical content, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Torture, Murder, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, and Kidnapping

Minor: Vomit, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Suicidal thoughts

sirkeili's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious slow-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? No

3.0

This book is a good retelling of Beauty and the Beast, especially with the monster being something brief and yet uncontrollable for the male lead. I have not seen the retellings depicted this way, and it was heartbreaking to watch him slowly lose hope after knowing what comes next.

I found Harper to be both intriguing, but also sometimes frustrating when she takes things too literally.  She grows a lot during book, but I still found most of her troubles could be solved by trusting Rhen and Grey a lot more than she initially did (even when they proved they meant no ill will).

I think Grey was my favourite, as he seemed the most well rounded and intruguing character.  His abilities, attitude and mysterious past seem to all line up in a way that I wanted to follow along with him and see his side of the story.  He has so much to tell, and yet so much to unravel about himself as well.  Despite the rough and scatter hand of cards he's been given, Grey still shows an innate softness and care for those he holds close. 

Harper has all the aspects of a great heroine, but I feel the author hinges everything on her disability, and yet its rarely addressed in the novel.  It's almost as though it's just for the ✨ d r a m a ✨ and the "I'm not like other girls" trope (ugh), and not to really showcase how exceptional Harper is despite - and because- of it. I think if there was substance and heart going into developing her character more, Harper could really shine as bright as I know she can.  She has a spark big enough to even set Emberfall ablaze, truly.

If you need a softer, yet still slightly gritty retelling, this is a solid one. Very spunky, goofy and generally easy-going-ish book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Torture, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, War, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Stalking, Terminal illness, Ableism, Bullying, Confinement, Gun violence, and Medical content

Minor: Child death, Cursing, Classism, Misogyny, and Sexism

readwithde's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

This may be my favorite Beauty and the Beast retelling. 

First, I love having any character, but especially a MC with a chronic disease or disability. It was handled so well in the narrative; it never felt like a plot point or focus, but simply part of Harper. 

Second, I really liked the way the romance between Rhen and Harper played out. The friendship and trust is built first, then the romance begins to bloom. I liked that there was initial attraction, but it was a true slow burn. Normally I'm impatient about that, but it felt so organic and well-developed. 

I'm less of a fan of the

love triangle with Grey. At first, it felt like he was a brother figure to both, especially when Harper compared him to Jake a few times. Honestly, I would ship him with Rhen over Harper.

I do like how Grey's narrative turned out, for the most part.

Being a "halfling" human and magic user, and perhaps heir to the throne, was a big revelation, and I'm glad we saw him struggling with that in the epilogue.

I was most excited about how the kingdom and the people reacted to Rhen and his decision to start doing something for them. It helped build up the story to be worth a trilogy instead of a single book.

Even though it's off-brand for me, I like the semi-vague ending

of whether or not Harper loves Rhen, whether she broke the curse or if Grey did.

While there's still a clean ending, a resolution, it gives room for more play in the series without stirring up extra (i.e. unnecessary) drama.

Overall, I really liked it, and I'm excited to read more in the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and War

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Torture

bedtimesandbooks's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Violence, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, and Body shaming