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Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'
Une Fenêtre sur les ténèbres by Benjamin Peylet, Rachel Gillig
25 reviews
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.
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_meganrose's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.5
This is unlike any fantasy book I have ever read. Captivating. Mysterious. Magical. Didn’t know how I felt at first, but now that I have finished it, I can confidently say that I really enjoyed this book! Excited to dive right into the second book, especially with the cliff hanger at the end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
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
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
litbrett's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
barbarianmissy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
4.5⭐️
K this book was a solid 4 stars for me until the last 50 pages BECAUSE THAT ENDING (WOWZA!) easily bumped it up to 4.5. I love it when authors aren’t afraid of switching up the dynamics of the characters.
The reason it wasn’t a solid 5 stars is cause I felt the romance plot was a little rushed. I didn’t dislike it, but at the same time it was a smidge forced in my opinion. Needed a little more banter and build up rather than just obviously already secretly being in love with each other pretty much the whole time. Like even when he has a right to be mad at her for her keeping a rather big secret from him, he forgives her almost immediately before he’s even upset. There’s no fight for it. Idk, it was just too easy!!!
But I kind of liked that the romance wasn’t the main focus of the book, there was way more important shit to focus on.
As for stand out characters, man, I love “the Nightmare”. He’s just a crazy lil guy who loves word play. Go off, king! What an icon. Excited for more from this lil psychopath.
Also, I truly love Elm. Why did Elm and Elspeth have more chemistry than her and Ravyn? Like, I felt like they even had more scenes together?! Ravyn trusted and loved her from the start, so I felt like the relationship didn’t build, BUT Elm is super wary of her and RIGHTFULLY SO and they have a fun bantery dynamic! IDK, I FEEL LIKE THERES POTENTIAL THERE. NO? JUST ME?! ok whatever. Anyways. Loved him. He’s great.
Ione, I’m interested in seeing more from her. I feel like she’s a part of some grand sub plot. Excited for her potential.
In conclusion… The world building, magic system, overall badassery and concept of this book is outstanding. It was so friggin cool. Loved it. If the author took a smidge more time building the relationships between the characters it would’ve been an easy 5 stars for me.
Excited for BOOK 2! LETS GO GIRLS!
K this book was a solid 4 stars for me until the last 50 pages BECAUSE THAT ENDING (WOWZA!) easily bumped it up to 4.5. I love it when authors aren’t afraid of switching up the dynamics of the characters.
The reason it wasn’t a solid 5 stars is cause I felt the romance plot was a little rushed. I didn’t dislike it, but at the same time it was a smidge forced in my opinion. Needed a little more banter and build up rather than just obviously already secretly being in love with each other pretty much the whole time. Like even when he has a right to be mad at her for her keeping a rather big secret from him, he forgives her almost immediately before he’s even upset. There’s no fight for it. Idk, it was just too easy!!!
But I kind of liked that the romance wasn’t the main focus of the book, there was way more important shit to focus on.
As for stand out characters, man, I love “the Nightmare”. He’s just a crazy lil guy who loves word play. Go off, king! What an icon. Excited for more from this lil psychopath.
Also, I truly love Elm. Why did Elm and Elspeth have more chemistry than her and Ravyn? Like, I felt like they even had more scenes together?! Ravyn trusted and loved her from the start, so I felt like the relationship didn’t build, BUT Elm is super wary of her and RIGHTFULLY SO and they have a fun bantery dynamic! IDK, I FEEL LIKE THERES POTENTIAL THERE. NO? JUST ME?! ok whatever. Anyways. Loved him. He’s great.
Ione, I’m interested in seeing more from her. I feel like she’s a part of some grand sub plot. Excited for her potential.
In conclusion… The world building, magic system, overall badassery and concept of this book is outstanding. It was so friggin cool. Loved it. If the author took a smidge more time building the relationships between the characters it would’ve been an easy 5 stars for me.
Excited for BOOK 2! LETS GO GIRLS!
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
skillyillian'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Ugh god this book is SUCH a great read. I read it in paperback and I went through three highlighters and a ton of tabs annotating it. It starts off a little slow plot-wise but the world, magic, and characters drew me in so completely that I hardly even noticed slow points.
Mild spoilers ahead, big spoilers will be tagged
What I really enjoyed about the world building was how the author sticks to her guns about the isolation of Blunder. They don't, can't, travel beyond it, so there's not a single mention of the rest of the world. It's so well done. We only ever see Blunder, but that means it's fully developed with it's own culture, traditions, superstitions, and history. The world is steeped in lore.
The magic system here is so incredibly unique and well thought out, I can't get over it. An infectious mist from a vengeful deity is such a badass way to give your characters magic, and having each person get magic unique to them after the infection just adds to the coolness of it all. Then to add the Cards on top of that? Consider me obsessed. The whole idea of balance, and the way the characters hold it in a place of reverence as much as they hold their deity in a place of fear, is so well done. If the deity hasn't exacted her spiteful balance yet, the people will, in whatever way they think is best. The creativity here is off the charts.
The characters feel so real. Being in Elspeth's head, watching her co-exisg with the Nightmare because she has no other choice, was such a great idea. Ravyn and his family have the same motivation but you can see how it affects each of them individually. The romance felt a bit fast but I didn't really mind it all that much 🤷🏻♀️
The foreshadowing and plot thickening is really well done. My only real gripe with that is that I felt like plot twists such as the nightmare being the shepherd king, and Ravyn and his family being direct descendants from him were pretty spelled out and elspeth still didn't catch on despite it revolving around the creature living inside her head who dropped every possible hint about what was to come. Like she just, didn't connect the dots, or didn't even really try a ton? And normally that would bother me more but that's usually when characters are preached as geniuses and still can't see what's going on right in front of them (sorrengail 🙄). Elspeth isn't touted as her generation's genius detective prodigy so I was more miffed than actually mad about it.
I like that the author left a lot of different loose threads for the second book to finish. I'm not super far into the next one but I can already see the loose ends from the first one being pulled into play and it feels really well done.
Overall, this book is just fuckin incredible. The plot, the people, the world building, the incredibly unique and mysterious magic system, and the (albeit kinda fast) romance. I ate this up and enjoyed every minute of it. I do wish there was more diversity in the characters, and that elspeth was a little less oblivious to what's going on around her (and in her head). But besides those and the quick romance, I have no complaints. None. No notes, no crumbs. Gillig knocked it out of the fuckin park here. Even when the foreshadowing felt kind of not super hard to solve at times, it was still so well executed that I really enjoyed each of the reveals. And there was still plenty of things that surprised me. The action was great, the consequences of people's choices were logical, there's just so much I loved here.
2024 is me getting back in my romantasy era and this is such a dope way to start it.
Mild spoilers ahead, big spoilers will be tagged
What I really enjoyed about the world building was how the author sticks to her guns about the isolation of Blunder. They don't, can't, travel beyond it, so there's not a single mention of the rest of the world. It's so well done. We only ever see Blunder, but that means it's fully developed with it's own culture, traditions, superstitions, and history. The world is steeped in lore.
The magic system here is so incredibly unique and well thought out, I can't get over it. An infectious mist from a vengeful deity is such a badass way to give your characters magic, and having each person get magic unique to them after the infection just adds to the coolness of it all. Then to add the Cards on top of that? Consider me obsessed. The whole idea of balance, and the way the characters hold it in a place of reverence as much as they hold their deity in a place of fear, is so well done. If the deity hasn't exacted her spiteful balance yet, the people will, in whatever way they think is best. The creativity here is off the charts.
The characters feel so real. Being in Elspeth's head, watching her co-exisg with the Nightmare because she has no other choice, was such a great idea. Ravyn and his family have the same motivation but you can see how it affects each of them individually. The romance felt a bit fast but I didn't really mind it all that much 🤷🏻♀️
The foreshadowing and plot thickening is really well done. My only real gripe with that is that I felt like plot twists such as
I like that the author left a lot of different loose threads for the second book to finish. I'm not super far into the next one but I can already see the loose ends from the first one being pulled into play and it feels really well done.
Overall, this book is just fuckin incredible. The plot, the people, the world building, the incredibly unique and mysterious magic system, and the (albeit kinda fast) romance. I ate this up and enjoyed every minute of it. I do wish there was more diversity in the characters, and that elspeth was a little less oblivious to what's going on around her (and in her head). But besides those and the quick romance, I have no complaints. None. No notes, no crumbs. Gillig knocked it out of the fuckin park here. Even when the foreshadowing felt kind of not super hard to solve at times, it was still so well executed that I really enjoyed each of the reveals. And there was still plenty of things that surprised me. The action was great, the consequences of people's choices were logical, there's just so much I loved here.
2024 is me getting back in my romantasy era and this is such a dope way to start it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Terminal illness and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent and Fire/Fire injury
kristinallard's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
edilyaaang's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Easily 5 stars.
It was a little confusing at the first few chapters because of the world building. But when you get past that, it will take your breath away.
This had me at the edge of my seat, holding my breath the entire time. How the story unfold was perfection. I didn't even expect to cry but I did at the last part.
This was a very great read to start the new year and I can't wait to read the second book!
It was a little confusing at the first few chapters because of the world building. But when you get past that, it will take your breath away.
This had me at the edge of my seat, holding my breath the entire time. How the story unfold was perfection. I didn't even expect to cry but I did at the last part.
This was a very great read to start the new year and I can't wait to read the second book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Mental illness, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Sexual content, and Alcohol
cover2covertx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Physical abuse, Torture, and Blood
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
tayseeds's review against another edition
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Self harm, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity, Torture, and Fire/Fire injury