Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

In the Ravenous Dark by A.M. Strickland

61 reviews

marareading's review

adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

I read this for my traveling book club. Unfortunately I found it very forgettable. The magic system wasn't very unique, and everything was very convenient. The MC was VERY annoying. Not because it is YA and she is young, but because she was ALWAYS making the opposite & wrong choice seemingly to further the story. If she had made ANY choices at all that made sense throughout the book it would have resolved in less than 150 pages. It was infuriating to read. The end wrapped up in such a HEA that it felt wrong and off putting. It was way too... Convenient. 

Rovan is our MC. Her father died when she was young to protect her magic from being discovered. she and her mother lived a quiet life trying to avoid the people that might find her, and take her to the palace to be warded. One day she slips and is discovered and warded. That means she is bound to a spirit/dead man named Ivrilos who is her guardian. She now has to survive this new place, discover who are her friends, enemies, and figure out a way to end this torturous system. Either save herself and escape, or save everyone and find out why this system exists based on clues left by her father. 

I did love all the queer rep in the book. There is found family, and definitely some intrigue when trying to decide who she can and can't trust. In the end though I don't strongly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Misogyny, Chronic illness, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, and Sexism

oliverreeds's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

honestky it was very predictable which isn’t bad if there’s a twist. if the characters are unique. if i can feel for them and if the plot doesn’t feel contrived. but in this book that wasn’t the case. the writing was good. the world building was okay. the characters were great but the plot was lacking in substance. the magic system didn’t have clear boundaries and laws, at times one person would die in a way and then the next person just wouldn’t? which was confusing. the plot twist didn’t feel like a twist bc it wasn’t hinted that it was possible so instead of emotional it felt silly. the end of the book as well didn’t quite track for me. our main character is brought through hell and back only for everything to just be okay? no mention of the lasting trauma. the fear. the emotional duress these people were under. it was like it never happened. i wanted to be SHOWN the family dynamic as well. i don’t want the narrator to tell me she has a family. i want to come up with that from watching them. anyways. i still enjoyed reading it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Grief, Rape, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Death, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Infidelity, Murder, Misogyny, and Sexism

darkmattersoybean's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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: Blood, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual content

grimdark_dad's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Cannibalism, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Cursing, Gore, and Violence

switchywitchsitch's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Alcohol, Violence, Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Child death

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicide, War, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Rape

hanz's review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Alcohol, and Blood

abbyschalupa's review

adventurous dark emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Sexual content

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, and Suicide

pvbobrien's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcohol, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Violence, and Misogyny

Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Sexual violence, and Confinement

ludetorrance's review

adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

I have been complaining for ages that no book has a pansexual main character, and when I say this one does, I mean it. The way I feel so represented with this book as a pans/poly person made my little bitter heart flutter.

Rovan, a hidden bloodmage with a drinking problem makes a mistake, and she's found out. She then is suddenly thrust into a world full of schemes, luxury and betrayal, Rovan will need to learn how to navigate the royal palace without losing her head. A dead ward, an alluring princess, and a secret that is poisoning the world. What could go wrong?

⭐️- World building and background characters
0.75- Plot
⭐️- Main character
0.75- Love interest
0.25- Tension

The world building and background characters in this book are amazing. The detail, representation and how complete they are makes literally half of the allure of the book. The idea of the plot is amazing, and throughout the whole book is very well developed, is just the ending I didn't like too much, but it wasn't bad. Rovan as a main character an amazing character and a good representation (in my opinion) of a pansexual (the chaos pleaseee that was so on point). The love interests are lovable and the dynamic between all of them was good, I just feel like they fell in love out of no where. And the tension (which for me, s one of the most important things in a love story) was lacking. The story was so good I could have forgiven anything but this. But overall, a very good book that left me satisfied. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism

maxgdy's review

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, Vomit, Body horror, Confinement, Religious bigotry, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual content