Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Regatul spinilor și al trandafirilor by Sarah J. Maas

216 reviews

mrshays's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Slavery, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Racism, Sexism, Physical abuse, and Torture

sbordo's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Confinement

Minor: Abandonment

meggiek802's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

3.75

The main romance was pretty lack luster as the male character really has no emotional depth. The first 300 pages are very slow and hardly anything ever happened but the last 100 pages really picked up and left on a note that makes me interested in the next book.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Sexual content

megnut's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Torture, Violence, Death, Blood, Physical abuse, Grief, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Slavery

Minor: Sexual content

sstem's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Slavery, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

qatkatcat's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

READ THE NEXT BOOK EVEN IF YOU DIDNT LIKE THIS ONE (trust me!)

ACOTAR is a slow stepping stone to a much better second book (ACOMAF). The Beauty and the Beast influence is very beautifully written into the series as a whole, but the leaning on the sexual content in this first novel to create positive appeal for an otherwise unattractive Tamlin came off as a cheap knockoff of the Beauty and the Beast story. 

That being said, while this first book in the series involves a lot of important world building details and therefore can be slow at times, the tense and exciting last few chapters of this book is really where Maas’s writing and world building development begins to shine. Maas has an incredible knack for writing characters that have depth, secrets and hidden motivations, as well as beautifully writing conversations in a way that makes the politics of the book/series absolutely intriguing. (Also, if you happen to be familiar with Irish/Celtic folklore, there are some very entertaining nods to some classic folktales scattered throughout the series, and most if not all of the character names come from traditional Irish/Celtic influence.)

After initially reading this first book, I was on the fence as to whether or not to continue with the series, and decided to make the jump and buy ACOMAF. And let me tell you, it only gets better from here. Read the next book!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Torture

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Violence, Grief, and Blood

Minor: Death

firehearttt's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Gore, Death, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Murder, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

ursimae's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

3.75

Slow to start but ramps up at the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Torture, and Alcohol

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Confinement, Vomit, Body horror, and Cursing

Minor: Kidnapping, Slavery, Excrement, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

_meganrose's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Torture, Physical abuse, Blood, Gaslighting, Confinement, and Death

bear_ridge_tarot's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

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

3.0

 This is a very popular fantasy book and I was expected it to be as good as advertised. While ACOTAR was an overall enjoyable read for me, the book had a few very glaring things it lacked. I enjoy a thick book with a lot of world-building, and this one fits that description. There is a rich history in the lands of Pyrthian, that I want to know more. 

But I don't like lackluster characters, and the MCs are lacking in depth. Their relationship also sorely lacks, and while it's obvious to everyone around them it is being forced, the allusion to a Beauty & Beast trope didn't work for me. I found the supporting characters of Lucien and Rhysand were more interesting to me than Feyra and Tamlin. 

This book also comes with a number of trigger warnings for me, including toxic/abusive relationships, ablism, Stockholm syndrome, and violence of multiple kinds. I will at least give the next book a chance to further develop the depths of the characters before washing my hands of the series, because I loved the world the story is set in so much. 

 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body horror, Violence, Body shaming, Classism, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship