Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon

4 reviews

amy_in_the_city's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

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

3.5

I didn't know going into this that it was a Reylo fanfic with the serial numbers filed off, but I figured it out about 50 pages in. There were a few issues I think were caused in part by it originally being a fanfic. First, the characters were underdeveloped in the beginning, and I didn't quite buy that they were really enemies. They were truly enemies because they were on opposite sides of a war, but I would have liked for there to be a more personal element to it. Maybe one or both of them could have personally killed someone the other one loved or he could have been responsible for destroying her village, or something like that. In a fanfiction, we have this backstory already because it's in the source material, but since these are new characters, we don't know what they've done to really cause them to hate each other. 

The magic system also wasn't very well developed. The shadow magic and the light magic didn't do anything different from each other. They both just formed weapons that did the same things but in different colors. I chalk this up to this being adapted from Star Wars fanfiction where the characters originally probably used the same source of power (the Force) and the same type of weapon (lightsabers). 

The pacing was off. It took almost 200 pages for the main characters to actually have a conversation and interact beyond a few fight scenes. It was so weird to have a romance book where the couple hardly interacts for the first half of the book. Once the romance got started, I did enjoy how it developed. I was put off a bit by the insta-lust. The characters would be in the middle of trying to kill each other and then they'd be thinking about how the other one's eyes are so beautiful. Despite the insta-lust, I'd say the romance itself is a slow burn. They started getting to some good character development towards the end as they began to really explore the differences in their ideologies and the conflict that causes in their relationship.

Overall, I enjoyed this well enough, and it definitely picked up towards the end. I'm not sure if I'll read the next book in the series as I'm not super invested in the plot or characters though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, War, Abandonment, Death, Violence, and Colonisation

Moderate: Grief, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Domestic abuse

soniajoy98's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Abandonment, War, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Grief, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

memoirsofabooklover's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

i loved this book. the characters were well fleshed out and i loved that we got both perspectives so could see from both sides. their back stories got more complex and entangled as the story progressed, their conflict and contrast of their feelings politically and romantically, tinged with each of their childhood traumas was so well done. the tension weaved throughout was exquisite. i love the world this author created, so many beautiful sentiments and intriguing concepts in their cultures. i cannot wait for the next book to continue this story!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Death, Hate crime, Blood, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Terminal illness, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Gun violence

black_cat_iiix's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Racism, War, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Domestic abuse

Minor: Injury/Injury detail