Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Godslayers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

12 reviews

mkballard77's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Torture

spaghettii's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

4.5

I loved the depth added to the characters that were on an opposing side to the main characters. I never thought I would sympathize with the guy that was supposed to be the genocidal villain in book one. The main reason I didn't give fiv  stars was the skipping ahead in the plot. I understand the practicality of it, but I hated going to the next chapter and seeing that it's set several months into the future. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Suicide, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Genocide, Kidnapping, Mental illness, War, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Torture

victoriousbookworm's review against another edition

adventurous emotional

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Murder, Suicide, Vomit, Torture, and Kidnapping

krystaldelusion's review against another edition

dark emotional

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, War, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Self harm, Body horror, Suicide, and Torture

grandiose_r's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gun violence, Gore, Child death, War, Violence, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Suicide, Torture, and Suicidal thoughts

pitchblackkoi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Blood, War, Violence, Body horror, Death, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Toxic friendship and Torture

magnus_w_d_locke's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, War, Violence, Death, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Torture

sydsmith23's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Violence and Torture

thaliareads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.0

Gearbreakers was a no-brainer 5 star for me, but for some reason, I struggled through Godslayers. I'm not sure if I wasn't as invested once I got through the cliff-hanger left by the first book or if it was the fact I had to speed up the audio book to finish it in time with my library check out, or even the fact that I was not feeling well and probably didn't have full brain operation to comprehend, but it just didn't click in the same way. However, I still enjoyed the book when I finished it, and I loved the characters. I think I'll have to re-read this at some point and read the physical book instead of listening to the audio so that I fully absorb all of the content. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Violence, War, Suicide, and Torture

Minor: Confinement

Overall, this book does deal with the overall themes of trying to finish a war, and with that there is all varieties of violence and some more graphically described injuries. Minor spoiler, less so after the content of the first book:

The first part of the book starts with Sona in control of the enemy again. While she's not technically held captive she still very much is. This time the torture morphed more from physical into the mental. Those around her were trying to completely change the way her past was described and how she saw the family she came to love.

. There is one big spoiler that has to due with the appearance of suicide. I'll include it here in case it helps to know what to expect:

At the end, the Zenith does jump out of a window, killing themselves. It is quick, and not graphic, but it is a poignant moment.

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zoiejanelle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

(Praying the author never reads this review because I desperately want to be friends with her, but I’m going to be honest here!)
Godslayers pales in comparison to Gearbreakers, but was overall a good book that brought much more depth to the overarching conflicts in the series. The main reason this book isn’t a 5/5 for me is the middle… it is just so slow… which I understand. This series is, at its core, about war, and war can be excruciatingly boring. I didn’t experience the same sort of thrill that I got from book 1. The payoff, though, was worth it! 
I also got lost in Mikuta’s writing. In book 1, the poetic style was charming, romantic. In this book I was confused and had to re-read several very important passages to understand what was going on. I totally understood the point of the style. It lends itself to allowing the reader to have startling, emotional realizations and experience what the characters were experiencing through sensory detail, but I’m dumb and need action scenes to be very clear or I can’t visualize the scene. 
As for the good stuff…
This book explored more of Jenny’s character as well as Eris’s crew which was really fun. I also loved the new characters — especially Enyo — and reading how they interacted with our original cast. The twists and turns were great, and I must have said “oh, shit!” at least ten times (especially towards the end). I was very scared that this would be an ambiguous ending, and in some ways it was, but please rest assured this is a hopeful ending and provided the much-deserved closure our characters needed. I still highly recommend this series and it will hold a very special place in my heart for years to come. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, and Violence

Moderate: Gore, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Blood, Mental illness, Torture, and Grief

Minor: Vomit and Suicide