Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Fever King by Victoria Lee

13 reviews

literallygriffin's review

emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

so much fucking happened in this book but i liked it. im saving any analysis for after i finish electric heir (even then analysis goes on my tumblr typically lol) but i think the commentary on socialism is interesting, or at least it could be depending on how its further elaborated upon --

the idea to take noam from a disgruntled/dissatisfies anarchist to an unhinged accelerationist doomer due to the manipulations of a power-hungry fascist, for instance, is a very interesting and resonant arc that im curious to see how it gets developed further in teh.

the characters are incredible and unique and so so fucked up. the plot is very compact, especially considering its like, what, 500 pages? or at least my ebook copy was lol, but anyways thats a pro for me because it shows that the author had a point and knew how to get there!
the main flaw isnt so much of a flaw as it is a personal preference. i hated the ya dystopia novel prose so much. which, obviously yes its ya dystopia the prose is gonna be befitting of the genre. that ones on me ! but you could see various glimpses of the authors ability to write genuinely good, sensorially & thematically resonant, creative prose shine through at moments before being swiftly crushed by genre and publishing expectations

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Deportation, Alcohol, Racism, Terminal illness, Classism, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Colonisation, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Police brutality, Xenophobia, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Abandonment, Antisemitism, Sexual content, Rape, Police brutality, and Physical abuse

Minor: Eating disorder and Domestic abuse

theminnesotawitch's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

The most phenomenal book I have ever read. A heartbreaking story filled with betrayal, connection, loss, and a wonderful world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Murder, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child abuse and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Deportation

yedikedi2k03's review

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Religious bigotry, Torture, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Child abuse, Murder, Police brutality, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Confinement, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Vomit, Violence, Classism, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Genocide, Xenophobia, Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, Death, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Deportation, and Eating disorder

feijoamuffin's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

I honestly think this is a new comfort read. It was going to be 4⭐️ but that felt wrong. All that’s left to do know is finish my reread of the Webtoon.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Alcohol

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual violence, Murder, Gun violence, and Pedophilia

melodyseestrees's review against another edition

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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Adult/minor relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Suicide, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Medical content, and Drug use

Minor: Racism, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Child death, Rape, Death of parent, and Vomit

Early on in the book there is a somewhat graphic depiction of dying and decaying bodies. There is casual drug abuse, specifically alcohol and cocaine. Several people are dying in a hospital-like setting and the process is described in detail at least once.

the_planetarywanderer's review

dark tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism and Murder

Minor: Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, and War

owenblacker's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.0

 The Fever King is a YA dystopian postapocalyptic m/m romance, also about race & immigration. I’ll quote the blurb directly:

In the former United States, 16-year-old Noam Álvaro wakes up in a hospital bed, the sole survivor of the viral magic that killed his family and made him a technopath. His ability to control technology attracts the attention of the minister of defense [and founding revolutionary leader of the state] and thrusts him into the magical elite of the nation of Carolinia.

The son of undocumented immigrants, Noam has spent his life fighting for the rights of refugees fleeing magical outbreaks — refugees Carolinia routinely deports with vicious efficiency. Sensing a way to make change, Noam accepts the minister’s offer to teach him the science behind his magic, secretly planning to use it against the government. But then he meets the minister’s son — cruel, dangerous, and achingly beautiful — and the way forward becomes less clear.

Caught between his purpose and his heart, Noam must decide who he can trust and how far he’s willing to go in pursuit of the greater good.

I quite enjoyed the book — the storyline was interesting enough and the characters are engaging and faceted without being too irritating, which I can sometimes find a problem with YA if I’m not in quite the right mood. But it definitely suffered from me reading it immediately after Mira Grant and I had forgotten quite how much I love her work.

CN list from the author: violence, intergenerational trauma and genocide, immigration, abuse, parental death, death of a child, mental health and suicide, slut-shaming, ableist language, drug and alcohol abuse, emetophobia. More details on her website. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, War, and Xenophobia

CN list from the author: violence, intergenerational trauma and genocide, immigration, abuse, parental death, death of a child, mental health and suicide, slut-shaming, ableist language, drug and alcohol abuse, emetophobia. More details on her website: https://victorialeewrites.com/the-fever-king-content-warnings/

tkhenry99's review

4.0

A strong start to 2022! I don’t usually go for sci-fi very often, so I appreciated the simple and straightforward sciencey parts. I feel like a lot of sci-fi is overly complicated or just skips the explanations entirely. Dara and Noam were great characters, but I wish their relationship had been fleshed out a bit more. I could maybe maybe understand why Dara is so insta-lovey but Noam really didn’t seem to have much of a connection with him besides thinking he’s hot. It did tend to be pretty predictable

(you can see mind control coming from the very beginning)

and some parts felt underdeveloped.

Dara and Ames are both addicts, but somehow it doesn’t seem to actually affect them/their health/wellbeing/powers? And Dara being raped by Ames’s dad for years was a weird inclusion…… especially to turn around and have him go “I did it as a political thing” without any additional explanation……

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Death, Hate crime, Racism, Suicide, and Xenophobia

Minor: Child death, Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Vomit, War, and Genocide

cindythenerd's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Genocide, Death of parent, Child death, Mental illness, Vomit, Drug use, Alcohol, Body horror, Murder, Cursing, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Xenophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Torture, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Body shaming

Minor: Addiction and Suicide

dani_c's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.25

The Fever King was chosen for my book club and is not something I would usually read, especially during a pandemic. That said, I was pleasantly surprised. While Fever King absolutely has its dark, morally grey moments (and a LOT of them), and was realistic in the ways people treat each other, it was unrealistic enough about the pandemic itself that I was able to appreciate it. The magic in this world isn't as developed as I would prefer, but perhaps how magic works is better explained in the sequel. 
Character wise, I struggled with Noam. There were many times where his angst absolutely read like a YA novel, even though there's plenty going on in the story itself that begs the attention of an older audience. That said, the confusion and uncertainty his character goes through was very realistic and imaginable if a kid similar to him found themselves in the positions he's put in throughout the novel. I just wanted MORE from him. 
I won't be reading the sequel, but for a YA fantasy dystopian novel I was pleasantly surprised that I finished the book and didn't hate it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death of parent, Death, Genocide, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Murder

Minor: Antisemitism, Confinement, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Medical trauma