Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Une Fenêtre sur les ténèbres by Benjamin Peylet, Rachel Gillig

17 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

solarel's review against another edition

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 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Self harm and Death of parent

draconicmama's review against another edition

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Drug abuse, Violence, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

kfkeene's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

margaret_k30's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Police brutality, and Classism

Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Infidelity, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

nightknight217's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

I really enjoyed this book -- the setting and lore felt very rich and fleshed out, which allowed me to become invested not only in the characters, but in the world itself!
There were a few moments that where tropy

enemies to lovers, and drama that could have been entirely avoided if characters could just TALK TO EACHOTHER!!!

But even they felt justified for the most part.
I'm looking forward to reading the second!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Blood

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Child death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Grief, and Death of parent

the mental illness and terminal illnesses depicted arent real-life illness but instead caused by the use of magic - characters experience degeneration, which causes mental or physical illness, includingone character hearing a voice in her head

samsbookcorner's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Hate crime, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness and Terminal illness

Minor: Death, Sexual content, Police brutality, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War

aseel_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-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

4.25

This was so easy to read, it was such a joy. The writing wasn't basic or anything, it was still beautiful but just easy to read and very interesting, kept me captivated! 

I am glad there was only one s*x scene and one kiss scene, much more preferred. I liked the world and the fantasy of it. I enjoyed our characters and I just love magic card stuff, always here for tarot related stuff. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Bullying and Sexual content

Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Gore, Sexism, Torture, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

chronic_listener's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

Absolutely unputdownable, laced with magic and an eerie atmosphere, One Dark Window was a delightful surprise to me. 

I loved this so much more than I thought. The tension, the plot, the pacing, the characters, the setting, the romance, the writing - I was absolutely captivated.

More things I loved:

♥ the fmc not being a complete pushover 

♥ the magic system

♥ the tree family names

♥ the action scenes

♥ the tension between Elspeth and Ravyn

♥ the Nightmare

♥ the eerie rhymes 

This really felt like a movie in my head, the narrator did such an incredible job bringing this story to life. The writing was so horrifically great that I felt queasy at times because I could just imagine someone living inside my head and feel the pain of all the injuries like it was happening to me.

I can‘t wait to see where this story goes.

One thing I noticed: Considering our fmc seemed quite bright, it took her painfully long to realize what I feel like was quite obvious to the reader from early on.

The Nightmare being the Shepherd King and slowly becoming stronger the more she asks for his help.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Bullying and Police brutality

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