Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

37 reviews

kat1105's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Alcohol, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Vomit, Torture, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Death, Emotional abuse, and Gore

disneydamsel1's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative slow-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

3.5

I didn't like this one as much as the Discovery of Witches. It was a lot of new characters/names/species to keep track of. I really wanted someone to kill Kit. He was so whiney and annoying. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood

kirstym25's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Blood

Moderate: Torture

micaelamariem's review against another edition

challenging mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

A bit disappointed with this one. Good points: it was well written and there must’ve been loads of research put into this which I respect. Not so good points: the books was unnecessarily long and many scenes could’ve been cut out, Matthew was insufferable in his secret-keeping, hypocrisy, and jealousy, and the elements of time travel didn’t make much sense as they thoroughly messed up the timeline!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Murder, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, War, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Addiction, Classism, Confinement, and Drug use

redheadsuperpowers's review

emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.0

300 pages in and already annoyed with the menfolk.  I am reminded of why I avoid historical romances. Matthew has fallen away from his modern memory, and is treating Diana as if she were from the Elizabethan era and not the educated woman she is. At risk due to a jealous ass of his friend, who has attempted to stir witchcraft sentiments against her in a time and place where witches were burned!! I seethe, as all could have been avoided if her was listening and respecting her intelligence. Men.ugh.

I read this directly after reading the first in the series. It did lend some to the storyline, but overall, it just reminded me I hate historical novels. I am more of an urban fantasy reader.

In this follow up to A Discovery of Witches, we find our leads Diana and Matthew time walking back to Elizabethan England. With a jealous wannabe paramour for Matthew, active witch hunts, and time appropriate intrigue, it drags a bit. Matthew is once again keeping too many secrets, but Diana is finally learning her own abilities. We meet Philippe and Stephan, and see both leads get some closure with their fathers. Diana changes history by being herself. We met lots of major historical players that were apparently Matthew's friends. That man sure involves himself in major events for someone changing lives so often. All in all, it was a decent book, and while long winded, did lend depth to the storyline.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Gore, Classism, Colonisation, Death, War, Blood, Child abuse, Sexism, Stalking, Torture, Child death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Mental illness, and Violence

baearles's review

adventurous emotional mysterious 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Addiction, Violence, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual content, Miscarriage, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Antisemitism, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Murder, and Torture

hazelgirl21's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Violence, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

maggies's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

Similar to the first book in the series, I found this one maybe a bit too long, but it was still totally enthralling. I loved the setting, watching Diana and Matthew learn more about each other and themselves. It was especially more realistic that this story took place over the course of a year rather than just several weeks, like the first book. The

time jumps back to the present

were also *chef's kiss* perfection.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Addiction, Miscarriage, Sexism, and Pregnancy

foxgloveandcrow's review

emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Violence

Moderate: Miscarriage, Death, and Grief

katvou's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Drug use, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence