Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang

28 reviews

j_schley's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Mental illness, Child death, Violence, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, War, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Gore, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Pregnancy

sanyaes_library's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

epic fantasy
Japanese inspired
epic fight scenes
war + politics
avatar the last airbender vibes
strong fmc in her 30's
dual pov: mother + her 14 y/o son
complex characters
family + friendship

i can't remember the last time i have been so invested in a new world. this has some of the best action scenes i have ever read.  + misaki is one of my favorite fantasy fmc, she is everything!!!!


my favorite quotes:
❝You lost your right to my obedience when you stopped being a man!”

"Flayed and boneless, he faced the creature he had awakened, this woman of gods’ blood and fury."

"Wholeness, she had learned, was not the absence of pain but the ability to hold it.❞


things i didn't like: 
×the beginning is very info dumpy
×the pacing was off at times.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Suicide, Violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Rape, Toxic relationship, Genocide, War, and Misogyny

arirs's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

The Sword of Kaigan was such a joy to read. Right from the beginning I was captivated by the amazing world and characters. The pacing was great and I loved all the action but the most satisfying part for me was the incredible character development. The story was gut-wrenching and it is a heavy read but the author does give the reader some hope within all the bad and ugly which I loved as I think it is relatable to a lot of people to succumb to helplessness but Misaki shows us that despite all the darkness and tragedy you can still find light and happiness. The only reason I am not giving it a full 5 stars is because I felt the ending was slightly rushed but that may have also been me just not wanting it to end. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Sexism, Misogyny, Suicide, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Death, War, Grief, Child death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape

Minor: Xenophobia and Kidnapping

abirdiebooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I feel like I just read 2.5 mostly finished books instead of one cohesive story. This could have benefited from M.L. Wang waiting to get a bit better at building a story and world, a few more rounds of editing and some thrown out plot points. This feels like it should have been somewhere in the middle drafting stages (storywise, mostly not writing wise) and not a finished product. It IS sad that we won't get more though. If this book had been worked on longer and published later and as part of a more cohesive series set up it could have been excellent.

Potential triggers:

The casual moments of domestic abuse, both in thought, conversations, and actions could have absolutely either disappeared or been handled differently. The mention but complete lack of real discussion regarding marital rape was just. No

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child death, Gore, Suicide, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, War, Grief, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Body horror, Homophobia, Violence, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Rape, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Sexism

abken's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Perfect 100/100 book. One of my favorite books ever. Slice of life story for more than 50% of the book. It was emotional, it hit right in the feelings

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Rape, Sexism, and Medical trauma

trizk's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I read this in december of 2022. I have deadass cried once a month since about this book whenever I think about it. This shi not for the weak💀

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Pregnancy, Grief, War, Xenophobia, Sexism, Misogyny, Death, Child death, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Murder, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Physical abuse and Child abuse

Minor: Sexual content

novelideea's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Minor: Violence, Emotional abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, and Classism

mjadeh's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Misogyny, Racism, and War

angstifies's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

incredible book.
the characters and dynamics were so well written it blew my mind, this world and magic system are super interesting and it had the literal best fighting scenes i’ve ever read.

probably one of the best standalone fantasy books out there, i truly loved this story and how it progressed so much, and i couldn’t have thought of a better ending, wow

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Violence, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Suicide, War, Misogyny, Rape, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, and Sexism

Minor: Pregnancy, Genocide, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Domestic abuse

josiah17's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-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

Wow. I can't say enough about this book. I haven't read many standalones, nor indie published fantasy books, but I can't imagine that I'll read one of either that will surpass this book. 

This is a a masterpiece. Truly. But also beyond heartbreaking, and incredibly brutal. This story is not for the lighthearted, but there's a beautiful message and overarching themes that make this book such a wonderful reading experience. And not to mention the action in this book and the magic system. There's a fight scene in this book that I'm going to have difficulty forgetting. I mean...just wow. 

And the character work! My goodness is it good. Misaki is easily an all-time favorite protagonist. And the redemption of a character in here is done so well. Just extraordinary execution.

This books is 110% worth the read. Cannot recommend it enough.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Child death, Gore, Violence, and War

Moderate: Suicide and Rape

Minor: Miscarriage