Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

55 reviews

gcjay1994's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.0

My biggest note when it comes to SJM is that all her books could stand to be 200 pages shorter. I like her ideas and always have a fun time, but I think I would really enjoy her work with a tighter edit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Sexual content, Violence, Death, Grief, Murder, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Toxic relationship, and War

Moderate: Child death

annamary54's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

4.75

okay i almost wanna give it a 4.99 stars. it’s like almost 5 stars for me, but not quite. I also did this as a tandem read with Tower of Dawn, so my brain is kinda muddling plots together. all I can really say is in the last chapter I suddenly was sympathetic toward huge Marvel fans…I get it. This is Marvel for me. I think the lack of 5 stars for me

is the relationship between Rowan and Aelin. yes I love them, but it was honestly giving me yawn boring. like it was the same thing from them every time. Although idk how to get around that i guess. I also didn’t like the Celeana attitude that Aelin kinda sported the whole book, especially after meeting up with Rolfe. I just felt like cocky instead of confident y’know. I’m also not sure how I feel about Elide and Lorcan, it honestly felt very Jeff and Annie from Communtiy

overall I had a great time, a lot more action packed and gripping than the first books, it didn’t just wait for the last 100 pages to pick up the pace. I was flipping pages like mad the whole time. I guess that’s just a compliment to SJM’s world building skills, she really created an intricate web of characters that I couldn't have anticipated when starting this series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, War, Confinement, Violence, Death, Physical abuse, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content

huddle_dragon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, and War

infjkiki's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Confinement, Kidnapping, Torture, War, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Body horror, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Sexual assault

readwithde's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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

5.0

Empire of Storms feels like the start of a sequel series: the stakes are so much higher, and the setting stretches across the continent. The cast of characters grows, and I found myself excited for different POVs.

I felt like Aelin's path was so jarring and chaotic at the beginning of the book, but by the end

after seeing her "fetch quest" of speaking with Brannon, securing Skull's Bay, and seeking the Lock and Elena

her journey made much more sense.

Lysandra, Elide, and Manon shone brightly in this book; I was happy to see each of them step fully into their potential.

Elide and Lorcan had some of the best action and storylines. Every time it cut back to them, I had to keep reading.

As nice as it was to have so many other POVs, I would have loved a bit more Aelin. She controlled many of the plot twists, and I would have loved a bit of extra foreshadowing or even just getting to see her thought process. 

I did read this in tandem with Tower of Dawn; I feel like both books benefited from that system, getting extra action in this book to balance the extra lore in Tower of Dawn. I highly recommend reading these together. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Cursing, Murder, Gore, Blood, and Death

Minor: Alcohol, Confinement, Slavery, Animal death, Physical abuse, War, and Suicide attempt

maggies's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I read Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn in tandem, so I cannot separate them. And I don’t have words. Aelin is a frustrating heroine, but the cast of characters around her more than make up for that, especially Lysandra, Manon, and Elide. That ending. My goodness.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Violence, Gore, Death, Murder, Blood, and Toxic relationship

ladydeathnesta's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

Some plot holes, but it’s understandable in this book related to the rest of the series. Thoroughly enjoyed it, it was a real nail-biter!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gaslighting, Sexism, Blood, Bullying, Misogyny, Sexual content, Torture, and War

britwalsh16's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

I read this in Tandem with Tower of Dawn. And I am SOOO glad I did! If I had to read TOD between this book & KOA, I would have died! & not enjoyed TOD, cause I’d be obsessing over what’s gonna happen with the characters in this book!
This book was sooo good! I love being able to read from all the different characters POV’s. 
I love all the couples & am so thoroughly enjoying them to settle in with eachother. The dynamics between the different couples are just amazing!! But Aelin & Rowan are still my favorite! 
But, all the revelations at the end, I AM NOT OKAY WITH THEM!!! This story really can’t end the way it’s leading to!! There has to be another way! I am not okay with that! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Death, Murder, Torture, Violence, War, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Blood, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Gore

Moderate: Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, and Confinement

lisavandonselaar's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gore, Violence, Blood, Sexual content, and Torture

Moderate: War

rileypruyn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: War