Reviews tagging 'Torture'

A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross

8 reviews

minnow's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This novel has many of the tropes I love: enemies-to-lovers, slow burn, lots of longing, gorgeous descriptions of food and clothing; additionally, the setting is lush and beautiful, with a rich lore. The plot is interesting and hints at mystery, and there are several love-based subplots. I should have loved this book. But I didn't.

It's entertaining and is, in parts, beautifully written. However, it's at best a snack, and not a very filling one. It takes some of the tropes I love and over-uses them until it made my eyes roll every time they popped up in the text--how many times can Jack rake back his hair with one hand? There are so many aching chests that this story needed a cardiologist more than it needed a bard. Every emotion is set at ten, every moment is The Most Dramatic Moment, which reduces every truly heightened emotion and moment to zero. If everything is in stereo, nothing is in stereo.

Yet the world-building is lovely and well-done. I wish it had been focused on more and there had been less romantic navel-gazing and reminiscing performed by secondary characters. The development of the main characters feels abrupt; it's handled better with the supporting characters Torin and Sidra. There is one mildly spicy scene that is well done but feels poorly placed in the narrative.

A beautiful premise that feels shallow. I won't read further into the series as it didn't enchant me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Grief, Kidnapping, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Self harm, Blood, Murder, Torture, Death of parent, Infidelity, Child death, and Sexual content

rayreyes's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious relaxing sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Wow wow wow. Killer. I’m so grateful I came across this book because of an instagram post by another favorite author. Truly fantastical and enthralling. I’ll sing this book’s praises all year. Reads like this give new weight to a five star read.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death of parent, and Kidnapping

Minor: Stalking, Grief, Torture, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Child death, Abandonment, War, and Miscarriage

cakrolik's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Grief, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Death, Miscarriage, Torture, Violence, Sexual content, Child death, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

heatherjchin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, and War

Minor: Blood, Self harm, Death of parent, Murder, and Torture

naomi_k's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Chronic illness, Torture, Classism, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Xenophobia, Bullying, and Stalking

Minor: Sexual content and War

avie_j's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death

Minor: Torture

chrisljm's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Blood

Moderate: Death, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Bullying, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical content, Miscarriage, War, Murder, Self harm, Terminal illness, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Child abuse

clarabooksit's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping

Moderate: Bullying, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Grief, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Murder

Minor: Torture