Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

66 reviews

niknakreads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

If you've not read any Robin Hobb, please start soon because you are missing out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, and Abandonment

Moderate: Death of parent and Animal cruelty

Minor: Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Child death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood

brynalexa's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Adorable and cruel magic system. Heart wrenching. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Grief, Alcohol, and Blood

Moderate: Mental illness, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Drug use, Misogyny, Death of parent, Violence, Physical abuse, Addiction, and Infertility

Minor: Rape

lea's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad 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

I think this is the kind of book I will like more upon reread and after having finished the series. I'd say it's a 4 star but out of respect for future me I'm gonna give it 4.5 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, Animal death, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Torture, Drug use, and Injury/Injury detail

micallab's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, and Infidelity

Minor: Death of parent

i_write_on_occasion's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Solid book, however, at times it seemed like it was struggling to find its identity

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, and Violence

Minor: Infidelity

lanna_aud's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, and Child abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism and Abandonment

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Infertility

lauramcc7's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Abandonment, Grief, Violence, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

mcosmic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Gaslighting, Violence, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

britreads's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

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

5.0

I was nervous to read this. I heard that this is a slow read and many people prefer Hobb's other series. But I had so much fun reading this and I want to finish the whole series. (I predict the other two books will be 5-star reads for me.)

What I admire most about this book is Hobb's ability to trust readers and let them make their own conclusions, even though we're in Fitz's perspective. the entire time. There are several times where the solution to a mystery is revealed and it's not treated as a major revelation in the narrative, but it is still satisfactory. I also found her writing to be extremely detailed and rich. It felt like an immersive read. And this world felt fully fleshed out and lived in.

I really connected with a lot of characters in here. Not just FitzChivalry, but also Burrich, Patience, Verity and to a lesser extent Chade. The evolution of Fitz and Burrich's relationship is one of the best in the book with Fitz and Verity's relationship running a close second for me. 

I was also impressed with how progressive this story felt despite being published in the mid-90s. There are a lot of well-rounded female characters in here. This world is inspired by medieval Europe, yet there is no reliance on extreme misogyny or sexism. In fact, in this world, men and women have equal rights to rule. It's a small detail that I really appreciated, especially when compared to other fantasy novels/series written around the same time. 

This is a slow-paced novel. We start off with Fitz when he is a young boy, around five or six years old. The story ends when he's roughly 18. I liked the slow pace as we had a chance to track Fitz's successes and failures, particularly when he begins to learn the Skill. And Fitz grows a lot during this novel. By the end, he is much more aware of his position as a King's man and the dangers that comes with the title. I appreciated this thoughtful approach to Fitz's tale. There are some action scenes, but the story is mostly focused on the emotional and mental impacts that stick with this young person.

This is my favorite read of the year and I really hope the rest of the series lives up to the expectation that this novel created. And I can't wait to dig into the other novels in this world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Death, and Animal death

Minor: Animal cruelty

jo_lzr's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I really liked the prose of the book. I sympathized a lot with Fitz. There is, also, a strong focus on Fitz's mental health. Even though descriptions were a bit exhaustive at times, Robin Hobb's talent in story crafting made up for it.

I think that the fog that Galen put in the mind of Fitz so that he would forget about his ability to Skill, which caused him to hate himself so much that he wanted to commit suicide is an interesting metaphor for real life. I don't know if that was something the author did on purpose, but it is interesting to think that in real life the perspective of oneself can become fogged through abuse and gaslighting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence