Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Wicked King by Holly Black

258 reviews

indigo_fox's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I enjoyed this book more than the last one, it was hard for me to put it down. It was great getting to learn more about the world and the characters, finally got a little peek into Cardan's past. As for the characters, I feel like Jude didn't really get any development this time around. She seems to be in the same space at the end of the book as she is at the start. Cardan got some great development though.

The end of this book has a fun little easter egg that anime fans will appreciate. I saw it and freaked out. 

It's Yuri on Ice! They are watching Yuri on Ice on the TV. As soon as I read the line I KNEW it was about Yuri on Ice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Minor: Death and Sexual content

kittykels's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

3.75

I enjoyed this book, but the first half was incredibly boring to me. I had a very hard time getting through it. I didn't necessarily hate it, but it was just so boring. Luckily the latter half was a lot more interesting. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Murder, and Alcohol

seastheday's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny tense fast-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

5.0

I couldn’t put this book down. Okay, I only did  because I have young children. But, otherwise I wouldn’t have put this book down! Listening to Jude slowly talk herself into paranoid madness was so fun to watch. I love and hate Carden’s incongruous ways. He was foolish but learned to play the game. He is akin to Sansa Stark in that way. I love the push and pull of power between Cardan and Jude. Most of the time I’m not even sure who I want to have the power. As a side note, I fucking hate Locke. STILL. And now

Ghost AND Taryn’s

are on my list with their names underlined! I don’t think any of them can really be redeemed. And I don’t think they’re meant to be. I want to pick up Queen of Nothing RIGHT NOW. But alas, I cannot as I have not bought it. I want to know what happens next and steam roll through it this weekend. But I must wait on the library.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: War

Minor: Child abuse, Slavery, Torture, and Vomit

suerte_encantada's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

spatterson7's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement, Drug use, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

katharina90's review against another edition

adventurous tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

1.0

The plot was paper-thin, boring and dragged on for what felt like forever. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, and Kidnapping

Minor: Sexual content

ameliabiblio's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

That ending has left me both incandescent with rage and completely numb because

I just want Cardan and Jude to be fully in love and understand that they can trust each other! I actually just had a thought that maybe he did that to protect her because he knows it's going to get dangerous for her to be in faerie? I hope that's why and not some other stupid reason.

Okay, anyway. Like the first book, this started off a little slow. I actually don't remember a lot of the beginning, but once things got hopping, they got hopping.

I'm referring to when Jude was kidnapped. Everything after that was thoroughly engaging.

As far as sequels go, I think this was a good one. It continued the story, changed the dynamics enough to keep things interesting, and set up a really spectacular ending. So now the question is: can Queen of Nothing live up to my expectations?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

rachelr_reads309's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

noellegrace8's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

As stated in my review of The Cruel Prince, I really struggled to get into that first book. But I guess I got used to all the oddities, because I couldn't put this one down. There was less fluff, more politics, and it finally felt like the characters were the correct age for the things that are happening. They are adults now, making adult decisions and playing a dangerous adult game of power, authority, and death. I would no longer categorize this as "teen" literature, but "young adult." What really impresses me is that Holly Black manages to make me root for characters that are truly not good people, which is not typical for me. I wanted Jude to win in the first book. I was smug when she turned her knife on Cardan. But now in this one, I wasn't sure who to vie for. It seems like every time a character does something worth celebrating, they also do something that makes you hate yourself for liking them. The betrayals are painful but enticing. Also the cliff hanger??! My library is backed up 10 weeks for the last book and I am REELING about it. I don't know how I'm going to wait that long. This is fantasy done right, and true enemies to lovers (hopefully? Jury is still out on whether "lovers" is true...).

I don't factor the audiobook performance into my rating of the material itself, but I give Caitlin Kelly 4.5/5⭐. Again, by the second book in a series, I tend to get used to whatever problems I had with the voicing in the first. But honestly, there didn't seem to be as many parts where I felt the narrator wasn't portraying the correct emotion or tone of voice. A good performance, overall.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Xenophobia, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

marshsano's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.0

Personally, I find the second book far outperforms the first book. The stage has been set, and we’re finally given a chance to watch these characters breathe in the world that has been created around them. Jude is an excellent protagonist, balancing her kind nature with her deeply cautious attitude. I spent a lot of time angry at her decisions before immediately backtracking because in the sense of her character, she’s totally valid. Holly Black has done a great job at making these characters stand on their own.

This book also did a much better job as genuinely throwing me through a loop with outlandish betrayals and interesting schemes. I genuinely never knew what direction it was going in with each turn of the page. 

My only wish is that I wish that Cardan’s journey had been portrayed more. There’s a scene in the end pages of the book where we are meant to believe he’s gone on this incredible self discovery journey, and while I think the bread crumbs were laid, I find his actual arc lacking. I love Cardan though, and he’s a fun character. I just wish we could’ve seen these developmental moments the book tries to make us believe happened.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Torture, Violence, and Vomit