Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Une Fenêtre sur les ténèbres by Benjamin Peylet, Rachel Gillig

355 reviews

kaitrates's review against another edition

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adventurous tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

Overall, I enjoyed this! It has an interesting premise, cool card-based magic system, and (mostly) well fleshed out characters. I loved and understood Elspeth and the decisions she made (including the questionable ones) and enjoyed many of the side characters. This was also a fairly quick read–i'd sit down for a little bit and gobble up 50 pages without realising it.

That being said, there were several points where this didn't work for me (besides that I thought this was a monster romance and spent the whole book simping for the Nightmare).

  • The romance. This is marketed as a romantasy so I expect the romance to be well fleshed out. Yet, I could not for the life of me tell you why these two fall for each other. That's not to say there wasn't the occasional swoon worthy moment between them, but I giggled a lot more for DaddyNightmare being all protective and stern (and giving her a choice). 🤷🏻‍♀️ It also was insta-lovey, especially since he's supposed to be one of the people she fears the most! Give me the tension pls.
  • Narrative inconsistencies. For example, Elspeth has a broken wrist but this is completed disregarded at times (wdym she was braiding her own hair?!) and then brought back up when its necessary for the plot.
  • Ravyn's characterisation. He's the head of this brutal killing squad and yet we barely see him be brutal. The one time we did was hot AF—and I enjoyed learning his other secrets!—but overall he was kind of bland to me.
  • Somewhat predictable. Listen, I am a top tier passenger princess when I read. I am not theorising or picking up on foreshadowing on an initial read through. I'm here for the journey! And I enjoy that tbqh. However, it means that when I do predict a twist...🥴 And while there were surprises, some were so so very obvius.
  • The vibes. I know this is supposed to be moody, spooky, and gothic but I really didn't feel that the setting was well fleshed out (would've really appreciated a map). I was more afraid of the men than the mist especially since there were so many ways around the mist taking you? But maybe that was the point.

This is comped to Uprooted which was one of my favorite books of 2024 and one that I think does the monstrous (but human) love interest, creepy wood, and gothic vibes much better.

I'm glad I read this. I do think its overhyped. But onto the next! I'm excited for Elm and Ione, especially since their connection was setup perfectly in this one.

Initial Review
I still maintain the nightmare would’ve been the better love interest. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Full RTC (maybe)


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livxinpages's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

I have no words! It was so good literally couldn’t put it down and when I had to (mom duties) I was constantly thinking about it. I want more of the nightmare’s story and how everything went down. Just grabbed book 2 & not entirely happy about multiple POVs but let’s see how it goes! 
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bronzel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

3.5

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ashylibrarian's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense 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

4.0

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kaseybereading's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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quicksilver's review against another edition

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

5.0

I liked this way more than I thought I would and the spice level was just right - a low simmer with a passionate scene with consent. I actually thought this would go an entirely different way where Elspeth would absorb all the cards and then recreate the Twin Alders somehow, but I love the way it twists and the return of the Shepherd King (although the heartbreak about Ravyn 💔). The characters are complex and although there were some spots where we clearly just need to follow along a little blindly, it all makes for a good story in the end. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel…
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kfkeene's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

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jmwal's review against another edition

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

5.0

This book was so unique and dark, and i loved every second of it.
Ravyn and Elspeth are just 😍
 
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margaret_k30's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

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belleamethyst's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective tense slow-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

4.5

Listen! This book is chef's kiss. I'm glad I decided to bring it home and get lost with it. I didn't have any expectation upon diving into the world of The Sheperd King Series ( This consists of 2 books.) but I love the mystery within ths world. I love the magic system, the slow paced in building this immersive world of Blunder. The riddles! Makes me play like a detective trying to decode it lmao. 

The "Villain" here is something that I did not expect I'd grow to love as the story progress. 

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