Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Une Fenêtre sur les ténèbres by Benjamin Peylet, Rachel Gillig

230 reviews

jls6283's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

The magic system in this book is so unique and creative as is the style of writing. I literally didn’t know some of the types of trees referenced and had to look them up. 😅 Some of the “revelations” were a little predictable
(like Nightmare being the Shepherd King, Ravyn & Emory being infected, and Ravyn eventually figuring out her secret by using the nightmare card)
, but it’s a really cool read and I’m looking forward to the conclusion in book two!

“Be wary. Be clever. Be good.”

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

eli_rampy's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious tense fast-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

4.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

hailstorm3812's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

solarel's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

4.0

I love a protagonist who is actually terrified of their magic. This book felt kinda slow paced at first but I think that’s because it was planned as a duology. It needs the next one. But it did feel like a satisfying ending. And a really well done cliffhanger, too 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

thebookaddict's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

Ik vond dit boek goed. De rijmpjes in het verhaal zijn erg poeïtisch, maar dit haalde mij soms uit het verhaal. Ze zijn wel belangrijk voor het verhaal! 

Ik vond Elspeth erg interessant en leuk. Ze heeft een sterke persoonlijkheid,
maar ik vond dat ze de nachtmerrie wel snel om hulp vroeg, terwijl ze wist wat de consequenties waren
. Ravyn is ook zo leuk, hij heeft persoonlijkheid en beschermd Elspeth op een goede manier. Ik vond Ravyn een goede keuze als love interest al had ik Elm ook niet zo erg gevonden🤭. 

Het verhaal loopt goed. De spanning zit er goed in en er gebeurd precies genoeg. De vertaling is ook goed gedaan. De zinnen lopen vloeiend en het is allemaal een logisch samenhangend verhaal. Het magie systeem is simpel en wordt ook simpel uitgelegt. Je krijgt niet ineens on 1x alle informatie, maar dit wordt goed verdeeld over het boek. Ik vond het ook erg goed dat de nachtmerrie niet in 1x zijn geheimen prijs gaf. Dit gaf nog een extra laag mysterie.

Ik had alleen iets meer verwacht. Dit boek wordt enorm opgehypt en ik ging ook met die verwachtingen het verhaal in. Het verhaal is goed, maar niet spectaculair. De gebeurtenissen voelde soms wat afgeflakt aan. Ik ben wel geïntegreerd en ik ga dan ook zeker deel 2 lezen! Dit is namelijk een perfect voorbeeld van een goed neergezette "gotische" fantasy

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

readwithzayy's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious medium-paced

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

mari1532's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.5

I have been hearing about this book everywhere and was finally able to get the audiobook through my library after several weeks of having it on hold with Libby. Overall, I was not gripped by this story until the third act and then I was absolutely invested. For the first two-thirds, I was more just going with the flow learning who all the characters were and the world-building facts that Gilling was integrating into the story. 

I am a bit confused by two things throughout the story. First, Ione's whole subplot confused me. How did Ione and Elspeth grow up so close and then diverge so quickly on their paths? Elspeth was a well-constructed character and throughout her motivations were clear, but I have no idea why Ione was making the choices that she was. The game that all the characters play toward the climax of the book did make things slightly clearer, but overall she did not feel fully fleshed out. I hope that she gets a bigger subplot in the next book. 

The second thing that was confusing for me throughout the book and it is possible that I just did not understand this in the text is how many cards there are in total. There are rarer cards that are much harder to find, but some of the cards are quite ubiquitous. The cards seemed to be important for displays of power, but I'm not sure if two different decks are being constructed by the two factions or if one group is ahead in the number of cards that they have. 

I really enjoyed the romance subplot of the book. The dynamics between the characters were fun to watch develop throughout the book.

The ending of this book was absolutely shocking and gripping! I have no idea how Gillig is going to resolve all the loose ends in the next book, but I cannot wait to find out.  

Highly recommend. It starts a bit slow but the plot is worth the wait. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

draconicmama's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

Hello darkness, my old friend.

I am so mad that I've let this sit on my TBR pile for so long. Impeccable writing, fascinating world building, and very intriguing characters lead us beautifully along a well done plot. While the plot itself is somewhat predictable, I very much enjoyed witnessing how the characters came to the conclusions I saw for them and I cannot wait to see how this all comes together in book 2! I expect there will be more surprises there then there were in book 1.

Also, I am obsessed with the poetic speech of Nightmare. Absolutely loved that aspect of his character. Definitely upped the creepy factor.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

nikimorr's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

maizee2022's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was so good. It was the perfect mix of dark, mysterious fantasy and romance. Can't wait to read the second one! 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings