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Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'
Critical Role: Vox Machina — Kith & Kin by Marieke Nijkamp
6 reviews
adventurous
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
Love this peak into the twins' past! As someone who watched all of the Vox Machina campaign and became obsessed with Vax & Vex, I had been wanting to read this since it was first announced. I FINALLY got around to it, and I wish I'd listened to it sooner (as an aside: listen to the audiobook -Liam & Laura voice Vax & Vex). The story was so complex and well-paced; I loved how the twins ended up on opposite sides of the conflict, and how nuanced the motivations of all these new characters were. I also loved seeing their famed brush with the Clasp, and the glimpses into their life in Syngorn. I had many headcanons about especially the latter period of their life that were more or less confirmed, which really felt validating from a character analysis and interpretation perspective.
Also, it was so good of them to #letvaxbeabidiaster. I fucking love Thorn.
Also, it was so good of them to #letvaxbeabidiaster. I fucking love Thorn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Racism, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
-Racism is of the fantasy variety (elf supremacy).
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Cursing, Gaslighting
Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, Gaslighting
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Grief, Gaslighting
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
If this is your first piece of media to glimpse into the world of Exandria, PLEASE go watch the streams or The Legend of Vox Machina first.
I wish I could've rated this book much higher, but I feel as though the Nijkamp's writing relied too heavily on the dialogue. The better pieces of this book were the actions or the internal calculations of characters shown to the reader/audience. Most of the information given to the twins does not feel earned, and the conflicts presented held little to no consequence in the end.
Those very few thought-provoking scenes made you take time to consider how or why the characters were making their decisions as you listened or read along. You could make conclusions instead of it being spoon-fed to you, and sadly the 'show not tell' aspect is poor, which is partially why my rating is so low
Pages 142 & 288 stood out to me about how Vax sees and feels in cities, and I very much enjoyed those two scenes, but that's about it when it comes to memorability in this book :(
I wish I could've rated this book much higher, but I feel as though the Nijkamp's writing relied too heavily on the dialogue. The better pieces of this book were the actions or the internal calculations of characters shown to the reader/audience. Most of the information given to the twins does not feel earned, and the conflicts presented held little to no consequence in the end.
Those very few thought-provoking scenes made you take time to consider how or why the characters were making their decisions as you listened or read along. You could make conclusions instead of it being spoon-fed to you, and sadly the 'show not tell' aspect is poor, which is partially why my rating is so low
Pages 142 & 288 stood out to me about how Vax sees and feels in cities, and I very much enjoyed those two scenes, but that's about it when it comes to memorability in this book :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Racism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Torture, Death of parent
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.75 stars
Kith & Kin is basically just a fun time.
As a more recent fan of the Critical Role world, I was excited to read a novel featuring the earlier experiences of Vax and Vex – two of my favourite characters (though really they’re all my favourites).
From a fantasy YA standpoint, K&K is nothing special or unique. But it is fun, with plenty of action, quips, (easy to figure out) plot twists, and emotional moments (especially the flashbacks). And from a CR perspective, it’s a fan-freaking-tastic time. I enjoyed some of the extra worldbuilding and gained a better understanding of how jaded the twins became by the beginning of Vox Machina. While the twins were initially on opposite sides of a larger conflict, I appreciated that the author didn’t drag it out and had them resolve their issues and work together – the strength of their relationship is largely dependent on the trust they’ve built and the open communication they (try to) maintain.
I recommend picking up the audiobook if you can – Robbie Daymond (aka Dorian Storm in Exandria Unlimited and early Campaign 3) is the narrator, with Liam O’Brien and Laura Bailey reprising their characters’ voices. Basically, I imagine Dorian as an older bard telling this tale to his audience. I will say - it was hard to contain my reactions to some scenes while in public!
Finally - I'm a big fan of Thorn and can’t forgive the author for going fade-to-black in *that* scene with Vax….
Kith & Kin is basically just a fun time.
As a more recent fan of the Critical Role world, I was excited to read a novel featuring the earlier experiences of Vax and Vex – two of my favourite characters (though really they’re all my favourites).
From a fantasy YA standpoint, K&K is nothing special or unique. But it is fun, with plenty of action, quips, (easy to figure out) plot twists, and emotional moments (especially the flashbacks). And from a CR perspective, it’s a fan-freaking-tastic time. I enjoyed some of the extra worldbuilding and gained a better understanding of how jaded the twins became by the beginning of Vox Machina. While the twins were initially on opposite sides of a larger conflict, I appreciated that the author didn’t drag it out and had them resolve their issues and work together – the strength of their relationship is largely dependent on the trust they’ve built and the open communication they (try to) maintain.
I recommend picking up the audiobook if you can – Robbie Daymond (aka Dorian Storm in Exandria Unlimited and early Campaign 3) is the narrator, with Liam O’Brien and Laura Bailey reprising their characters’ voices. Basically, I imagine Dorian as an older bard telling this tale to his audience. I will say - it was hard to contain my reactions to some scenes while in public!
Finally - I'm a big fan of Thorn and can’t forgive the author for going fade-to-black in *that* scene with Vax….
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
emotional
funny
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:
Complicated
I loved this book so much, I almost never was able to put it down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting