Reviews tagging 'Gore'

The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang

6 reviews

city_girl_writer's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

What an unconventional romantasy thriller in every part of each genre!

• Fantasy = reincarnation in an endless loop like a curse
• Romance = multiple love stories throughout time
• Thriller = wanting to turn the page to find out what happens next with outside forces getting in the way of these love stories

This will not be for everyone (especially not for romance readers who want a HEA), but it was really cool to see 3 interconnected love stories come together and yell "what the fuck?!" at the end. I will read more from this author in the future.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Drug use

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Blood, Gore, and Rape

Minor: Cancer and Death of parent

sarahb919's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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

4.0

A wild ride from start to finish!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Violence, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Animal death, Self harm, Bullying, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Ableism, Colonisation, Gore, and Stalking

Minor: Classism, Suicide, Eating disorder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

adalinemccormick's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Infidelity, Sexual content, Cursing, Rape, Sexual violence, Drug use, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual assault

heather667's review against another edition

adventurous 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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Blood, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, and Rape

litoreads's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Rape, Alcohol, Blood, Drug use, Gore, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship

bonriki's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

1.5

I had really high expectations for this book after reading the blurb, I read a lot of danmei so a book set in ancient China with a reincarnation plot (my favorite romance trope) sounded like it would be right up my alley. I was hoping for an emotional slow burn romance across multiple lives but unfortunately the execution of this story really didn’t work for me. 

The story is split into three timelines: one involving the emperor and a clerk in ancient China, one involving an innkeeper and a fox spirit in China in the 1700s, and one in modern day LA. The historical timelines were much stronger than the modern timeline but the story was plagued throughout by shallow characters, wooden dialogue, and a plot that felt more like an idea than a fully realized final draft.

At no point did the relationship between the MCs feel like anything but infatuated lust. This is a very sex-forward book with no believable romance or emotional intimacy built into the story, no times that the characters actually had a connection unless they were boning (the characters even referred to it as “the true feeling” in one scene). And boy, those sex scenes were not fun to read. Most of the sex scenes aren’t between the MCs and there are lots of comically unsexy phrases such as “he impaled me victoriously”, “blanketing me in his meat”, or “pounded his pink plum”. The MCs feel very self-centered and immature which I found off-putting. Basically, I was rooting against their relationship and by the time a love triangle subplot became revealed I was well and truly over it. I started this book with the wrong expectations and wanted to DNF but it was an ARC so I felt obligated to read to the end. 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Gore, Rape, and Death

Moderate: Ableism