Reviews tagging 'Death'

Wishtress by Nadine Brandes

11 reviews

remqii's review

adventurous hopeful reflective 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 really enjoyed reading this book. It felt rushed to me at the end though. I didnt like how long it was because I think it could've been shorter but I really enjoyed it. I liked around the end the most and showing christian beliefs. I wasnt to pleased with the ending because it felt me wanting more but it was good overall

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Trafficking and Pregnancy

intoxicatedflower's review

dark emotional tense slow-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

2.0

Myrthe was frustrating and annoying, and the insta-love interest was not fun to read. Miscommunication, or lack of communication, to make the characters have conflict also irritates me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Rape, Torture, War, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Misogyny and Domestic abuse

gartimar's review

adventurous emotional lighthearted 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Blood

Minor: Emotional abuse, Violence, and Child abuse

soph22's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-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? Yes

4.0

Meh. I loved the rest of the book, but the ending kind of infuriated me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Violence, Ableism, Emotional abuse, Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Death of parent

chloelj27's review

adventurous mysterious 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Grief, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, Torture, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Pregnancy

kaycanread4's review

adventurous dark hopeful tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Gore

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Rape

ashleysills's review

adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.5

What a beautiful story! This was my first Nadine Brandes book and I’m excited to read more of her work. I was also pleasantly surprised that my local library had it!

This story is about Myrthe, a teenage girl who has the power to grant a wish with every tear she cries. After making a grave mistake with a wish and being cursed to die by her next tear, Myrthe must journey to the Well of Talents to try and fix everything.

Even though the pacing in the first half of the book was slow, I was constantly compelled to keep reading and flew through the second half. I loved that I got to know the characters really well and that it made me self-reflect.

What I loved:
💜 Very well-developed characters; heroes you get attached to and villains you love to hate
💜 Relatable internal conflict
💜 A little bit of sweet romance 
💜 Themes of sacrifice, self-worth, redemption/forgiveness, and true love vs. fake love
💜 The writing was beautiful and I felt like I was there with the characters
💜 The plot twists had me on edge!
💜 Chronic pain/illness rep

What I didn’t love:
🤷🏻‍♀️ The first part of the book was pretty slow-paced
🤷🏻‍♀️ I liked the Christian themes/metaphors but I felt like they could have been woven more seamlessly into the story
🤷🏻‍♀️ Chapter 63? I felt like it was unnecessary (but maybe it’s just me? 😂)
🤷🏻‍♀️ There were a few minor plot holes
🤷🏻‍♀️ The very end was a little infuriating (but if you like cliffhangers, you’ll be good 😉)

Overall I’d definitely recommend this one! Brandes is a great writer and I fell in love with her characters/this story. I’m seriously hoping there will be a sequel… 👀

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Death

🌶️ just kisses

kristinwritesanovel's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Torture, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Death

johnboscoreads's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

Would have been 4 stars but went randomly Aslan-y and shoved in some weird Evangelical-ese into the climax.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Minor: Blood, Death, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Classism, Misogyny, Body shaming, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Grief, Chronic illness, and Violence

xandra_lyn's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious fast-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

4.0

Pros: This was such an exciting book! I could not put it down. The characters were well developed, but the plot still moved quickly.

Pro: the Christian allegories we're subtle. It was about half way through when I realized it.  It was exciting to see how she built the world around it but didn't make it overt (at first).
Con: BUT once I saw it, I couldn't unsee it. Especially at the end, I had a hard time figuring out if what was happening was actually a good fit for the world she'd built, or if she was trying to force the allegory into her story. 

Cons: the first two-ish chapters were pretty confusing as the author did some world-building. Part of the solution (about 10 chapters before the end) was a bit too deus ex machina for my taste. And it did end on a bit of a cliff-hanger. It was full of hope, and I was satisfied, but there is room for more.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Violence, Death, and Torture

Minor: Trafficking

Blood death and violence: typical fantasy violence with swords, etc. Torture: people are in the dungeon, and they allude to being beaten. It's not graphic, but she describes their pain and fear so it is sad. Trafficking: I only mention this because someone else did, and I want to address it. A character says her father sold her to men for money when she was younger. It is not graphic, and she has already begun her healing process by the time she shares this.