Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

A Shadow Crown by Melissa Blair

4 reviews

elskede's review

adventurous emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, and Gaslighting

starrysteph's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

3.75

Okay Melissa Blair!! A Shadow Crown starts RIGHT where A Broken Blade left off - and in my opinion, adds much more depth to the world and characters.

Keera is bound to serve the king as his Blade - his top killer and spy. But she’s secretly been working against him, with his youngest son Prince Killian and the Shadow, Riven (whom she may just be falling for). They’re conspiring to defeat the immortal ruler once and for all and bring safety back to the kingdom.

But not everyone is trustworthy, and plans are thwarted one by one. Keera has to protect her people, find a potential spy, and navigate the depths of her own grief while uncovering the truth of her own identity.

I appreciate how accessible and engaging this series is. I think Blair’s writing has already improved tremendously from book one, and the pacing worked perfectly for me here. The overall arc of A Shadow Crown is much slower than the action-packed A Broken Blade, but there were still interesting things happening during each bite-sized chapter. I particularly enjoyed some new side characters, including earnest librarian Vrail.

This readability allows for brilliant overarching themes such as colonization, racism, trauma & grief, addiction, identity, and so much more to be highlighted and ingrained in every aspect of the world and characters. 

There were a few plot stumbles for me - mostly around Keera’s judgment and intellect (which I felt took a big dip here when compared with her decision-making in book one). I also felt like the writing was a bit awkward and clunky at times, and occasionally the tropey elements were overused without any clever subversions or fresh angles.

But there were so many captivating moments here - a few explosive battle scenes, but mostly a lot of emotional heart and growth and learning to live through loss and trauma. 

And the ending?! I can’t wait for book three.

CW: colonization, death, violence, self harm, murder, grief, confinement, gore, war, injury, genocide, abuse, slavery, suicidal thoughts, torture, fire, abandonment, addiction, mental health, racism, sexual violence, sexual content

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(I received an advance reader copy of this book; this is my honest review.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Self harm, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Death, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Grief, Abandonment, Mental illness, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, War, Genocide, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Racism, Drug abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

kat1105's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Torture, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Slavery, Body horror, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Child death, Alcohol, War, Violence, Gore, Abandonment, Blood, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, and Vomit

Minor: Rape, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual violence

booksalacarte's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? No

3.25

A Shadow Crown-3.25⭐️ 3🌶️

To the kingdom, Keera is the king’s Blade, his most feared and trusted spy and assassin. But in the shadows, she works with Prince Killian and his Shadow—the dark, brooding Fae, Riven, who sets her blood on fire. Together, they plot to topple the crown that sits upon the king’s head.

A secret can only survive as long as its conspirators, and when nothing is as it seems, all are in danger. Keera swore she would never open her heart again after a loss she barely survived. But she will soon find she has more to lose than she ever imagined . . .

✨My Opinion✨

I’m enjoying this series!

There are nods to the authors indigenous background, a LOT of inter world diversity that makes the cultures and magic systems very interesting and compelling. 

The writing seemed a bit more disjointed than the last book. I often found gaps mid-chapter where I needed to go back and try to reconfigure my mind’s picture of what was going on. But over all, I am really enjoying the series!

With this the second book, there was a huge betrayal and the MC’s were separated. I’m hoping that we get more of the reason behind all of that and get back to the romance!

Found family

One bed

Fated mates

Betrayal

Bi rep

Assassin 

Shadow magic

Grief

Political intrigue

Thank you Union Square & Co, Sterling Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Cursing, Genocide, Misogyny, Murder, Gore, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and War