Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Regatul furtunilor by Leigh Bardugo

103 reviews

creolelitbelle's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-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

4.0

The second book began excitingly enough, but the middle was quite a slog. I enjoyed the growth of characters introduced in the first book and watching them interact with new characters. Learning more about the world and how things operate was fun, but I do wish most outside of Ravka was incorporated into the story. Court politics and relationships amped up to the point that I truly couldn't guess what would happen next. I suspect at least part of the course of the final book with the potential of Alina's weapons, but the evolution of her power and the Darkling's magic is what I'm most interested to see. The best part of a fantasy with politics woven in for me is always the final battle of the war, and events at the Little Palace prove that will be epic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Death, Blood, Animal death, War, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Torture

mikasana's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Storytelling is compelling and easy to follow. Things definitely began to pick up after the first installment and we met a few new charming characters.

My biggest gripe was Mal and Alina’s relationship. If it wasn’t Mal’s insecurities getting in the way, it was both of them being exceedingly stubborn or stupid. Mal himself was acting extremely childish and selfish to the point where I almost could not take it anymore and had to stop reading several times just to get through it. Honestly, I’m over both of them. 

I may finish the last installment just to find out what happens with the plot and the side characters. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity and Toxic relationship

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

Enjoyed this surprisingly more than I expected 😅 I still don’t like the Alina-Mal romance, Nikolai said it right “for an eternal love, you’re both really insecure about it” 🫠 FUCKING TALK TO EACH OTHER?!!

I love Nikolai!! He was entertaining and had some great one liners. The pacing is so much better compared to book 1,

also maybe helps that book 2 is very different from the adaptation so I wasn’t as bored because I didn’t know everything that would happen and when.

I also liked Tolya and Tamar, they had more personality and we got to know them better compared to side characters in the first book. I was pleasantly surprised that I liked this more than Shadow and Bone (mostly because of Nikolai and the pacing was better)! I’m actually excited to read book 3 now 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, and War

Moderate: Death and Animal death

anni_swanilda'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Gore, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence and Alcohol

Minor: Child death and Vomit

patchedspines's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, Murder, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Body horror and Alcohol

hjb_128's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Alcoholism

undecidedpersonality's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Alcohol, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War

Moderate: Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Classism, and Torture

Minor: Genocide, Child death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, and Self harm

filipacmiranda's review against another edition

4.0

Although very different, the second instalment in the trilogy surpasses the first one because it brings a lot of information and (brilliant) new characters to the table. 

Siege and Storm conveys new information on the political and religious elements of Ravka and the GrishaVerse, preparing the terrain for what comes next. The beginning and end of this book are fast-paced and action-packed. Meanwhile, the middle part focuses on these themes and makes for a considerably slower pace. Despite this, I never felt like there were any unnecessary parts or that the story was dragging along.

We see Alina transform and turn into a leader and are presented with Sturmhond, Prince Nikolai and the twins - Tolya and Tamar. These deeply thought-out characters change the narrative for this book and the next one. Along with some of the other secondary characters, they forward the reader's grasp on how this world works and grow Alina's support system. Bonus points because they're all witty and fascinating and contribute to how much I enjoyed this book! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, and Animal death

Moderate: Violence

mckiheather'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Torture, Confinement, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War

robles2yggdrasil's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Classism

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Torture