Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown

13 reviews

ainadei's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, War, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Gore

cdoubet's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Violence, Genocide, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Mental illness, Hate crime, Animal death, Blood, Murder, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Torture, Confinement, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Car accident, Medical content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, and Self harm

anni_swanilda's review

adventurous dark emotional informative 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Blood, Classism, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Gore, Murder, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Vomit, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Self harm

Minor: Sexual content, Child death, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, War, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Slavery

ofbooksandechos's review against another edition

adventurous 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief

Moderate: Violence, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, and Physical abuse

Minor: Self harm and Animal death

additional cws: fictional racism, use of fictional racial slurs.

mme_carton's review

challenging emotional 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Mental illness, Murder, Blood, War, Alcohol, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Violence

Moderate: Gaslighting, Slavery, Abandonment, and Confinement

abookstereotype1's review

adventurous emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

The perfect YA fantasy

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, and Physical abuse

tinysierra's review

adventurous mysterious 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

-Like other reviewers have said, the beginning is slow but it picks up! I loved the world and its lore. 
-The author includes a list of trigger warnings at the beginning! 
-Someone I follow compared this book to Raybearer, so no wonder I liked it!

Although in this book, you get to know the Champions and side characters more in depth than the side characters in Raybearer.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Animal death

Minor: Vomit

maryannsophia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

2.5

The premise of this book is amazing - and Roseanne Brown's masterful use of West African, North African, and Indian folklore and culture is immersive and incredibly unique. 

But her characters are morally ambiguous and tortured. I got tired reading chapter after chapter of PTSD, trauma, anxiety, and distress without a real sense of hope.

The one bright spot is Malik's love for his sister, but even that is overshadowed by his drive to murder in order to save her. And Karina spends the majority of the book trying to resurrect her mother with necromancy, but is so upset when another character succeeds at exactly that with her sister. It appears necromancy and dark magic were only right if she herself did them.

 

The characters' sense of right and wrong is very tied to their feelings.

Karina is okay with killing her husband as long as it's someone she doesn't have feelings for. But as soon as she gets close to Malik and Tunde, she decides not to kill each of them.

 

Lastly, there is no clear bad guy, or good and evil. While there is a place for "No bad guy" in fiction, the forces in this book are tricksters out for their own agendas, manipulating and backstabbing as they see fit. If that's your cup of tea, then it's up to you.

As good as the wonderful cultural and folklore references are, I can't in good conscience recommen  this book. As a third-culture kid who grew up in Africa, that's why I was drawn to this book. But it's tone and worldview are too bleak and disatisfying to justify recommending it. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Violence

longhairzuko's review

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

The second half of this book was absolutely amazing. I couldn't put it down. I felt that the beginning was a little slow and hard to get into. The panic attacks and grief that the characters experience were written wonderfully, but unfortunately I found myself experiencing their anxiety. This is not a fault of the book and Brown includes a detailed trigger warning at the beginning. I would just be careful if you tend to physically feel character's emotions. This did lessen as the book went on, and the story was so gripping that I would 100% recommend it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Self harm, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

queenie_ofthe_void's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death of parent, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm

Minor: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, War, and Xenophobia