Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Une Fenêtre sur les ténèbres by Benjamin Peylet, Rachel Gillig

24 reviews

hailstorm3812's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.75

I liked this but I kept thinking it was a different book than it was, which is on me but it kept throwing me off.  I was running off in different directions thinking it was a monster romance and that the king was trans, while it kept fairly faithful to the typical tale.  I loved the magic system though, I think it was clever and understandable and hearkens back to traditional fairy tales.  I also liked the characters a lot, I'm really excited to see more of Ione.  I do have issues with describing the main character as clever, since she makes the worst decisions ever always, which is fun as a character but you can't call it clever.

Rayvn blocking magic is so obvious a solution and they leave it for the next book most likely but they lay heavy handed clues, but no character brings it up. 

Also the rhyme scheme kept altering which bothered me.  It felt kind of YA and had a lot of classic romance turns of phrase, but overall I love girls being monsters and will probably check out the next one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Police brutality

Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

rchulin1's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

4.0

A very interesting fantasy book different from a lot of other books I read in the genre has some gothic themes 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, War, and Classism

katharina90's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

Interesting premise and worldbuilding. Loved the dark misty magical forest vibes. Vengeful Spirit of the Woods? Salty magic? Yes, please! 

Everything else was a little underwhelming (plot, characters, writing) but it was an entertaining read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

aidamaria_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I’m sorry to say this book/duology is overhyped. Things that annoyed me greatly were, among others, Elspeth’s entire personality (is she dumb or is she in denial - I’m not sure which is worse), the mention of the love interest’s title and eye colour the entire time (we get it, readers aren’t stupid) and the not so great writing. If you shake this book, you can hear the clichés jingling against one another.

However, I did like the eerie, gothic vibe and the magic system, and I’m delulu enough to believe the comic relief character/trustworthy sidekick will get more of the spotlight in the second instalment. Manifesting a love interest for him, because I choose to believe he’d be less insufferable if/when he falls in love.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

jalexpulliamkepler's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-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

 a good time with a great ending. Can’t wait to read the next one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Sexism, and Medical trauma

Minor: Domestic abuse

kiwi_of_serenity's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

4.75

I was prepared to give a five star review, but the quality fell apart a bit in Part 2. I adore the world— the Providence Card concept alone is so strong, but then there’s a detailed story and quasi-religious system surrounding the woods, the first king, and magic infections. It’s so fascinating. And that’s without even getting into Elspeth and her compelling relationship with the Nightmare, which is really strong and complex. One of my favorite things about this book is the excerpts from the Old Book of Alders, and the fact that the Nightmare quotes the Book and sometimes makes up his own rhymes. It does a good job if making him mysterious and inaccessible, but not in a pointless way— like he’s clinging on to old memories or incapable of speaking without some riddling. In the second half, I felt that the story leaned more on tropes, or at least felt a little tried. I enjoyed the romance greatly until they actually got together, and then it felt kind of annoying— they were constantly whispering to each other and kissing at inopportune moments, and I just wanted the plot to keep advancing. But I shipped them pretty well overall and I do think their relationship developed the themes of the book— body vs mind, resisting a broken system, etc. Overall, a Really Good Book, and I will be reading the aecond book asap. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Vomit

kenzibir's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

chanlo1994's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense 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? Yes

5.0

What a refreshing read.

I'm so glad the author avoided very classic tropes, such as "you lied to me, and now that I know your deep dark secret, you're dead to me ".

Concepts such as understanding and forgiveness within a relationship makes this an enjoyable read, especially with the world building and magic system used. And Raven makes me swoon.... lol

I also really liked the different examples on the theme of consent, as most of them are not related to sex. Body autonomy, yes absolutely, but not sex. It examplifies that sex is not the only time where consent is needed.

Also, the writing is so beautiful??? Both the poetry and the narration. It's why I gave it a full 5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Drugging

kai256's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Torture, Vomit, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

bethann_coleates's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail