Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Book of Night by Holly Black

18 reviews

madmadmaddymad's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • 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

5.0

I really loved this book, it had me gripped the whole time. 

I wondered the whole time what Lionel Salt had taken from Charlie…. Was it just her innocence? To be fair, I found him extremely sinister and chilling. In a world where shadows and magic exist - still a pretentious billionaire who’s used to getting anything he wants can be a compelling villain. 

Also, I really liked Charlie! A very different sort of YA heroine, set in her faults and hooked on the adrenaline of adventure. Vince was hard for me to trust at first. Then, I thought he betrayed her. And that ENDING!!!! Wow! I wasn’t expecting at all. 

Excellent, thrilling, and very dark - and somewhat spooky. I loved it. 

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ellenigrace's review

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challenging mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? No

2.0

Cool concept for the magic system/lore, but the plot was really confusing with too many characters, I don't love a dual timeline, and I didn't like the ending. The author told us the same obvious things loads of times but didn't explain a lot of the connections between characters and events enough for me to feel satisfied when the plot concluded because I didn't really know what I was meant to be waiting for. As other people have said, the main character is meant to be 28 but reads like an 18 year old.

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bcope84's review against another edition

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

2.5


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silver_violet's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

3.75


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lost_windsock's review

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

5.0

This story captured my attention from the first page. The back and forth between the past and present was compelling, and the shadow magic was interesting and well executed. There was plenty of action and a lot of tense moments, and it just flowed so perfectly and had me hanging on every interaction and decision Charlie made. 

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stardust_heidi's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

I had a complicated experience with this book. It dragged so much, and then right when it started moving, we'd get a chapter where we jump back to the past. And all the momentum was lost. There were a lot of character that got garbled up at times, and the pacing was really rough throughout. I think it picked up for me in the last 75 pages, and of course it ended in a wtf moment. I'm kind of glad the next book isn't out yet, because I wouldn't be super motivated to continue at the moment. I'm hoping the next book is able to move more quickly now that we have the bulk of the plot/history outlined. 

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jesshart8's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • 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

4.0


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em_aune's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-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

4.5

Such a good read! Complex characters, a super unique system of magic, and a bit of a mystery. Loved it and can’t wait for more. 

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aliciaw's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

The volume of telling, not showing especially in the first half of the book was too much. I wasn't rooting for Charlie and her character development felt pretty flat. Perhaps in part it was that app name dropping happened without any necessity: Facebook, YouTube, Patreon, Slack, Zoom.. all of these could have been written in a way that won't require the reader to be aware of the apps. It dates the book and requires the reader to be aware of these things as they are now regardless of when they pick up the book or any familiarity with them. Urban Fantasy with a robust magic system and morally ambiguous characters can be made without need to change things in any reprints due to the rate of change in technology. The premise was good, but the execution could have been tightened up and more time spent on the magic system. It needed a better ratio of showing over telling. I had to push myself to keep reading it because if this had been my introduction to the author, I would have dnf'd it by around the 20% mark. I don't know if I'll pick up anything else in the series but this was a miss for me. 

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kyrstin_p1989's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Really interesting premise for a story. Fantasy with a badass, curvy, female protagonist who is a little rough around the edges but sharp as a tack. I’m excited for the second one…in 2024. Really starting to get into fantasy stuff more and more. Will also be checking out this author’s other books. 

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