Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

La Neuvième Maison by Leigh Bardugo

784 reviews

cataquack's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

You know a book is going to be fun if it opens with a map, so I got a real kick out of this book opening with a map of the Yale University campus and surrounding area.

I had a really good time with this one, but it's definitely an "add a star if you've ever lived in New Haven, Connecticut" situation. Extraordinary sense of place, both in the "wow, Alex is eating at Mamoun's Falafel! She's shopping at Good Nature Market! She's dropping lore about Yorkside Pizza!" sense and the "I can follow the exact route Alex is taking in my mind's eye" sense.

I really enjoyed the Magical Realism of it all, and the book oozes personality and flavor, but the actual plot is fairly workmanlike—the murder mystery at the core of the story just isn't that gripping, and some of the investigation and deduction really started to blur together.

And it's hard to say whether I actually like Alex; her personality is (by design, I think) really grating at times, but she's a really interesting choice of POV character. This book could have easily followed a more generic Yalie-type character, who gets to be a fish out of water just by virtue of being a Normal Girl discovering a secret magical underbelly. Instead, Bardugo uses Alex's marginalized identities to explore the divide between Towns and Gowns, a divide that might be the defining conflict of New Haven, in a way that feels naturally interwoven with the plot. 

I don't know that I'm going to drop everything to pick up the sequel, and I didn't find the button it ends on to be an especially compelling hook, but I'm interested to see if it can build on this premise in an interesting way. All in all, a perfectly fun time!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

Moderate: Drug use and Murder

andlovetoowillruinus's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

Minor: Rape

blue_skye's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

agedmordorblue's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Fun read! I've not read much occult/magic realism before, but I quite liked this excursion into the genre. It took me a while to truly get hooked, but once the story got me, I found it hard to put down.  The prologue felt a bit cheap and didn't necessarily add much tension to the story and it takes nearly until the end for the story to catch up. Overall it seems like a fairly straightforward whodunnit, but it remains enjoyable throughout.

The book throws graphic descriptions of stuff like rape and abuse at you kinda out of nowhere, so maybe don't pick this book if you're looking for something light.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Gaslighting

aimeeanastasia's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Excrement, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

thisistrashpsyd's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Sexism, and Sexual content

Minor: Vomit

tranvnguyen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny informative inspiring 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

4.5

I want to give this 5 stars but after doing the reread, it’s just so dense information wise that I’m not sure I could get through it again.  It also took until 55/65% of the way through to really get good.  But when when it gets good, buckle up buttercup!  Literally, it’s such a wild ride.

I love this cast of characters as well!  They are all so lovable and funny, and I would protect them with my life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

caelinsullivan's review against another edition

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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Self harm, Sexual violence, Excrement, and Classism

Minor: Vomit, Stalking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

slowry44's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I really like the characters, the writing and the world building, but this book would not let up on the abuse, SA, and constant bleak/grim violence against its characters. The tone is occasionally unbearable to the point of sometimes skipping large chunks of text that are just the author describing the particular manner in which a character is being brutalized this chapter. The magic system is really cool and the creativity in the world design is spectacular. I am glad I got through it cause I quite liked the ending and the answers it brought, but fuck was it a dark and dreary trudge to get there.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

aczafir's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Drug abuse and Pedophilia