Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Une Fenêtre sur les ténèbres by Benjamin Peylet, Rachel Gillig

10 reviews

mari1532's review against another edition

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Sexual content and Toxic relationship

gauriraut's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Grief and Death of parent

ashdawn's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This one was good story telling and enjoyable to read, but I didn't really enjoy it enough to read the 2nd in the series. It does have amazing Gothic twisted fairy tale vibes, and I enjoyed the setting more than the characters themselves. 

The romance both contained some spicy scenes I wasn't expecting/didn't care about, and kind of fell flat. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Body horror, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Blood

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

abbyweber's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious tense 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

This was a great start to the duology. The world building was clear and the characters so well developed. I’m just glad I don’t have to wait for the second book to come out because that was quite the cliffhanger! I can tell the author took the time to develop this story. The care and attention she gave to the characters and their roles to the story is evident and I really appreciate that. This, my friends, is how you write a gothic fantasy romance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual content

emsavors's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

kbz_22's review against another edition

adventurous 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

Just finished "One Dark Window" by Rachel Gillig, and holy smokes, it's a 5/5 for me. Went in blind, knew nada about it, and came out thrilled.

This book, it's dark and tense in all the right ways. Every turn of the page had me craving more, uncovering layers of suspense that kept me hooked till the end.

Now, you'd think with a title like "One Dark Window," it's all gloom and doom, right? Well, surprise! Elspeth and her misfit gang of friends are lovable in this twisted and dark way. Despite the threatening atmosphere, the author somehow makes you care deeply for them. It's a wild ride of emotions, and I'm here for it. If you're into dark and thrilling reads with unexpectedly endearing characters, this one's a winner. Can't recommend it enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

bettysbookishworld's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Death, Mental illness, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

pvbobrien's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Terminal illness

Minor: Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Abandonment