Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Une Fenêtre sur les ténèbres by Benjamin Peylet, Rachel Gillig

84 reviews

tokitokine's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-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

3.75

A decent book overall. I enjoyed most of the elements but im not sure they fit quite right for me. Still enjoyable to read though and will read the sequel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Abandonment, and Classism

thebookaddict's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

mcbeck92'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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit and Abandonment

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

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

heathermiccolo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Torture, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism and Death of parent

cortanasreadingnook'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? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It was my year to read The Shepherd King duology and I enjoyed every bit of it! This is a story of dark magic, revenge, and a terrifying illness brutal enough to kill. Rachel Gillig’s writing is incredible and absolutely captivating. It is very descriptive, and captures a dark atmosphere ridden with magic. She smoothly laid out the world-building and the folklore that controls this story. She tells an amazing tale of retribution, balanced with a beautiful, slowburn romance in the background (and more :D). Elspeth and Ravyn are amazing characters, and their chemistry was through the roof! The tidbits of affection that they shared in this novel was perfect. Lastly, for fans of found family, we also have a prickly brute and an ice princess roaming the pages (this is a sign telling you to read it). 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Violence, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Sexual assault

icouldbemason's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Blood, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

katharina90's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

Interesting premise and worldbuilding. Loved the dark misty magical forest vibes. Vengeful Spirit of the Woods? Salty magic? Yes, please! 

Everything else was a little underwhelming (plot, characters, writing) but it was an entertaining read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

embill's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense

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

4.75

4.75⭐️ In this riddled story you will find nothing, and everything is as it seems. Haunted, infected, and feared, the beautiful Elspeth hides her cards close to her chest in case one looks too close and discovers her secret. The secret that she alone does not carry her secrets in her mind. As a child she got infested, and at the cusp of death, the Nightmare swooped in and saved her with its dark magic, but nothing comes without a price, especially magic. And now, as a young woman, Elspeth must face her Nightmare as she loses her mind to the monster and her heart to the man predicted she would meet on a long, lonely road. 

Don’t get me wrong; it was VERY predictable, but I liked the writing. It’s different from other romantasy books I have read in a way I can’t quite explain. I enjoyed it so much I actually bought the second book while I still had like seven chapters left because I knew I needed to know how this ends. I hope the second book will be less predictable; nevertheless, I expect it might be a bit more “entertaining” considering the ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Terminal illness, Blood, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Death, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail