Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent

12 reviews

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

poisonflame's review

adventurous dark emotional 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? No

4.0

I really enjoyed this duology, and I don’t think it suffers from sequel syndrome. I feel that it could’ve been a little more tightly plotted, and while Broadbent’s prose is lovely, there are a few spots where the voice doesn’t match, or small errors pulled me out of my immersion in the book. Overall, the book is well written with solid conflict and resolution, and I found it very enjoyable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Violence

Minor: Rape and Kidnapping

shadikb's review

adventurous challenging emotional medium-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

3.0

Dec 31, 2023
Going to come back to the story. Just need a break. 

Update Jan 3, 2024.
I finally finished it.... Here is my review:

I was so waiting for the “Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” moment and it never came....... I was disappointed but it was an okay read. The pace from the last book was lost. Became repetitive with the "There she is". It just didn't captivate me the first book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, War, Violence, Child abuse, Sexual content, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, and Toxic relationship

steen19's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, War, Excrement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Blood, Body horror, and Death of parent

temporaryspell's review

Could not get over the betrayal and figure out the reasoning behind it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping

headinthepages's review

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

Gah! Ok I love this series. I need more and can’t wait for another FOUR books 😍

The pacing, scene setting and plot itself are brilliant and engaging in this. It didn’t feel like a longer book and I was riveted the whole way through.

I love the character development that continues from book 1 into book 2, I love these characters so much and hope I get to see them in the other books of the series!

If you love vampires, action & enemies to lovers then get reading!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, Slavery, Alcohol, Animal death, Body horror, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Torture, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, and War

nobosmomma's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A very nice conclusion to Raihn & Oraya’s story. While the pacing of the books was rough (especially in the middle), I did like how it concluded. The beginning of the book with Oraya deep in grief was also hard to get through. She spent a lot of page time in the same thought process. I desperately wanted to move on. 
People looking for a blend of Underworld, Hunger Games, and ACOTAR will enjoy these books. Carissa is very good at hashing out her characters and making you love them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Sexual content, War, Murder, Kidnapping, and Grief

emr2220's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual violence, War, and Slavery

Moderate: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Blood, Violence, Suicide, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

kat1105's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, War, Gore, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

kotahlotah's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Death of parent, Death, and Confinement

Moderate: War

Minor: Torture, Alcohol, Child death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, and Sexual violence