Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Gild by Raven Kennedy

17 reviews

jennipea382's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Gore, Infidelity, Child abuse, Death, Violence, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Grief, Rape, and Confinement

Minor: Alcohol, Classism, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, and Adult/minor relationship

toribth's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Well, damn. That was certainly something.

The story was fast-paced and easy to binge, I enjoyed that! I also liked the writing, even though the editing was a bit bumpy here and there, as the beginnings of chapters sometimes felt like the author took a writing break and then repeated a lot of the things she just said in the previous chapter.

HOWEVER, this is far too rapey for my taste. Too much sexual assault, too much ON PAGE sexual assault, too much verbal assault and misogyny. Yes, I did read the TW, and yes, I'm aware it's an adult fantasy book, and if you're fine with it, good for you, but I feel like there's a difference between SA as a plot point (which is valid) and SA just for shock factor. Like, I don't need to read 400 pages of degradation of women to get that they don't hold a very high social standing in this world. I got it after the first 3 rape attempts.

I've seen the term torture porn thrown around in some of the reviews here, and I'm not sure if I'd go that far, but it does come across as a bit fetishised at times. If you're gonna include that much misogyny, at least give us some saving graces, something to keep the spirits up, because I thinks there's very little enjoyment to get out of a book that constantly makes you hate every single person in it. Give us ONE person who respects women, ONE conversation that does not include some form of degradation, I'm begging you.

The only characters I loved were Digby and Sail and they were A) minor side characters and B) dead lol. At least one of them. Which I'm still mad about.

Anyway, I do think I'll continue with the series, cause despite everything I'm kinda hooked, and I have high hopes for the tall dark mysterious fae dude at the end who I'm like 99% sure will be the actual love interest. I do really hope the other parts have less sexualised violence though, cause I'm sick of it and I certainly don't need to accumulate more hate for men than I already have.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Death, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Violence, Sexism, Rape, and Sexual content

Minor: Animal death and Adult/minor relationship

yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.0

I felt like a lot didn’t happen in this book and it was a lot of Auren complaining about life. I’m glad that she started to take charge of her life and see that she has been consistently failed by the men she encounters

other than Sail. I loved him

I don’t really like Midas and I don’t trust him. He gives me the ick and seems emotionally manipulative to someone who is naive and traumatized. I hope to see Auren get him in the future.

I’m intrigued enough to continue but this book was a little meh for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Confinement, Misogyny, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Violence, Cursing, Death, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Gaslighting, Rape, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Blood, Sexual violence, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Trafficking, Infertility, and Vomit

icy_queen's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Violence, Animal death, Murder, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Sexism, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Confinement, Blood, Death, and Sexual content

dealfea's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Murder, Blood, Animal death, Trafficking, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Sexism, Confinement, Classism, and Bullying

booshort's review against another edition

I think I got around 10% in and DNF’d it.

I then VERY VAGUELY skimmed the rest of the book. By that, I mean I searched up summaries, reviews, and recaps and then did not regret sticking this one out.

I think this book has the most serious trigger warnings I’ve read (/skimmed). TW FOR DESCRIPTIVE RAPE SCENE. Ya I’m good with avoiding that thanks. I found the writing very juvenile to an almost mocking degree. It sometimes came off more satirical of a dark fantasy romance, rather than and *actual* dark fantasy romance.

I’ve heard each book gets better; I might continue, I might not. But I know for sure I won’t continue any time soon.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, War, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Blood, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death of parent, and Trafficking

lifeofchrstnlvly's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Confinement, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism

Minor: Animal death and Infidelity

readwithsu's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death

midnacine's review

adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Third time reading the series, first time listening to the audiobook. My initial review is somewhere on here. But can I just say the male narrator (Blake Lockhart) is absolute perfection. He only read one chapter and yet I'm in love with him. I can't wait to hear him as [redacted] in the later books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Confinement, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Sexual content, Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Cursing, and Gaslighting

Minor: Trafficking, Animal death, War, and Death of parent

mspilesofpaper's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

1.0

God, those ~400 pages had been the most boring ones so far because nothing really happens. The majority of the book is Auren's musings and ramblings about being Midas' pet and snippets from their/her past.

Did I feel sorry for her and the other "saddles" (I still wonder why saddle when nothing else has to do with horses or riding in Midas' kingdom.)? Yes. Was I still absolutely annoyed by them? Hell yes.

After 80% something happens because the Love Interest appears and of course he’s fae. Why is every dude in a fantasy novel a fae nowadays?

Also, it’s rather blatant that it isn’t Midas who holds the power over the gold but Auren. I mean the girl is already named after the chemical symbol for gold (au).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Rape

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Rape, Sexual assault, Excrement, Trafficking, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Animal death