Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

12 reviews

se_wigget's review

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious reflective 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

5.0

Exquisite fantasy novel!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Physical abuse, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Bullying, Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Violence

asahome's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

3.5

A young woman learns the story of her life isn't what she thought it was. In the end, she goes through one of the ten thousand Doors to find her Home.

There is a book within a book. It felt a little like two short stories brought together in one novel with large sections devoted to one story over the other.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Racism, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Violence, Racism, Colonisation, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Blood, Grief, and Murder

hilwithonel's review

adventurous emotional mysterious 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? No

5.0

The vibes of "The Starless Sea" but I understood what was going on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Abandonment, Kidnapping, and Racism

Minor: Violence

athryn's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

3.5

This took a while to get to the actual adventure part, which was where it really took off for me. Before that, there's quite a bit of trauma to go through, and I will say that it made it so I had to put it down quite a bit. I thought the interspersing of the two narratives to be pretty interesting. I thought this was a good spin on a concept done by a few other people recently.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Sexism, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Confinement

Minor: Grief, Alcohol, Pregnancy, and War

thequiltyreader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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? No

4.0

I really enjoyed this story. There are a number of back stories, while slow in places they tie nicely together in the end.

I loved the occasional exploration of using particular words, capitalisations and the general importance of words.

There are fleeting references to various other lands / worlds through the Doors and I would have loved it if these had been explored in some way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Self harm, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Blood, Classism, Bullying, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Violence, and Death

directorpurry's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Xenophobia, Racism, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Kidnapping, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Slavery

carleneb's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

Really loved this story. Its an adventure buf its sl about human nature 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Racism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Grief, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Racial slurs, and Forced institutionalization

bittennailbooks's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.25

If you are a fan of RF Kuang's Babel, this is your next read.

A standalone, historical fantasy that casts a lens over the archaeologies contribution to colonization.  January Scaller is a curiosity, she is the ward of wealthy Mr. Locke, an artificer that is the head of a highly prestigious archaeological society. January's birth father provides Mr. Locke with artifacts from all over the world in exchange for raising January. After telling Mr. Locke of passing through a magical door to another world as a child, Mr. Locke decides it is time to put an end to his ward's childish imagination. Putting away her childish fantasies, January is offered a prestigious membership into the archaeological society that Mr. Locke runs on her 17th birthday, unheard of for a woman of a colour. Refusing to be another cog in the machine of colonialism, January refuses and upon finding out her father has gone missing on an excursion, January's life is turned upside down. Her only escape maybe the fabled doors in which she once passed through as a small child, it's existence hidden in her old leather bound book called "Ten Thousand Doors".

I thought this book was imaginative, tense, and absolutely threatening to the delicate veil that archeology holds over what its ruined. For those who are wondering about the dog: 

the dog does get hurt (mentioned not brutally described) but is totally fine

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, and Sexism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Murder, Misogyny, and Death of parent

Minor: Addiction and Animal death

faduma's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Xenophobia, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Racism

m0czy's review

adventurous inspiring mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

A whimsical adventure, where a young girl finds meaning in her relationships, her world, and herself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Racism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Racial slurs, Gun violence, Torture, Grief, and Kidnapping

Minor: Animal cruelty