Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent

73 reviews

fiercereadsfiction's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, and Death

Moderate: Sexual content and Domestic abuse

Minor: Rape

vireya'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

I really liked it! Not as much as the first, but I’ll definitely read more of the books in the series/world. It was much slower than the first one. It wasn’t slow paced by any means but it was much slower than the first. It was a lot easier for me to put down than the first one. Which for me wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I could see it turning people off a bit. My favorite thing about it was once again her relationship with her father and the journey she goes on to accept who he was and the things he did while trying to pair that with the man she loved and looked up to. Watching her take off the rose tinted glasses and go through the different stages of grief was well done. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Death, Gore, War, Violence, and Sexual content

Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, Child death, and Slavery

erinkellyreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

Continuing from the first book in this duology, I am again conflicted in my review. I did get more about the gods and Vincent/Oraya's past, which is what I was looking for, but... this dragged. I just never felt the chemistry between Raihn & Oraya and so when they were fighting over what Raihn did (which - valid, girl, I don't know if I could be in the same room with him after that in the beginning) I wasn't super rooting for them to get back together. I found myself skimming pages to get to the good parts. The ending was, in some ways, expected and, in others, unsatisfying. Now the question becomes - do I do what I did to myself with the Hades/Persephone series and push to read the rest in this world to see if it gets better or do I cut my losses on this series? Time will tell. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, War, Child death, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Slavery, and Bullying

Moderate: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Cursing, Infidelity, Child abuse, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Confinement, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Body shaming, Colonisation, Classism, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

sleepyrivermtn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.75

This book is just a great as the first. I will say that it is a little slower than Serpent and the Wings of Night as we are dealing with the consequences of the characters actions in the first book. There is political challenges, emotional struggles, depression, as well as hope. We recognize that the world is not black and white but many shades of grey. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Classism, Murder, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Grief, Death, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

kwaye's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, War, Death, Blood, Gore, and Death of parent

lolsous's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

2.0

I enjoyed the first book, but this was mostly unpleasant and never engaging to read. The writing is not good, it is clear the book was rushed and not edited. Descriptions can be repeated almost word for word a few sentences apart, as if one left in by mistake. There is also a lack of consistency in descriptions, between a paragraph and the next the length of travel, the timeline, or the colour or function of an object will change without any reason.

The story also makes no sense most of the time. The same person will be super smart and cunning or blind and stupid, trusting or mistrusting depending on what is needed for the story to progress in a certain way, what makes sense for the character is not considered.

There is a small treasure hunt that is too easy and never exciting. The unraveling of Oraya's backstory offers no suprises and is hollow. The tension and slow burn romance between Oraya and Raihn from the first book never hits right again, their chemistry is gone and we are left with neck biting. 

The only good thing is the very believable relationship between Oraya and her father, and Oraya's complicated feelings towards her father after his death.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

kymboh78's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, War, and Blood

Moderate: Mental illness and Grief

Minor: Torture

firehearttt's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Confinement, Gaslighting, War, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Sexual content

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

beckyremillard's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, War, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual content

aubbywaubby's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Sexual content, Violence, Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Slavery, Child death, Sexual violence, and Rape

Minor: Death of parent

tw page reads “ “graphic violence, violence against children, discussion of sexual assault and rape, and slavery. This book also contains explicit sexual content.”