Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen

4 reviews

lateromantic's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

2.0

 

This was an interesting metaphor, but badly executed: the setting was shoehorned in (and, as a romanticist, I do not appreciate the Hoffmann or Dumas erasure), the characters and their actions boring, the references to the real world jarring and eye-rolling. Every time I started to get into it something would bounce me out of it. I wasn't a fan of the prose, I found the turn of phrase clunky, and the structure was strange - was it going for thriller? Why did it run on so long? Also, it was 'edgy', which I find incredibly boring. 

 

Not without merit, just not my kind of thing - perhaps if you want more 'dark faerie' content after reading ACOTAR, or want a book that has vibes of the first Wonder Woman film, you'll like it, but I found both of those put together by a better craftsperson than this. 

 

(Sorry, I don't like to write mean reviews, but I have nothing nice to say about this beyond 'nice idea' and that I will inevitably read another Nutcracker book next Christmas.)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Classism, Confinement, Abortion, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Torture, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Drug abuse, Sexism, and Toxic friendship

gondorgirl's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Gaslighting, Sexism, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Grief, Misogyny, Death, Drug use, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Infidelity, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

that_person_logan's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense

• 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

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. I read it in two sittings in less than 24 hours, which says a lot. I enjoyed the first half way more than the second half, which felt rushed and jolting in its pacing. I really enjoyed the eerie descriptions of the Kingdom of Sweets and wish there had been more of that. Overall I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the following things:
- Family Drama
- Historical books
- Fairytale inspired
- Winter Horror
- Lush Descriptions
- How classics are written 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Murder, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Death, Sexism, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Drug use, and Drug abuse

kyrstin_p1989's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? Yes

3.0

An intriguing and compelling story built from the world of The Nutcracker yet vastly different from the story told in that ballet. This wasn’t what I expected but I still found myself enjoying parts of the story. My biggest issue with the story is the writing style made it less accessible than other books I tend to read. It read like a classic novel and I had to look up several words in order to understand certain passages. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture, Toxic friendship, War, Toxic relationship, Murder, Classism, Confinement, Infertility, Miscarriage, Stalking, Child death, Grief, Addiction, Abandonment, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Sexism