Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

21 reviews

madisonstarkov's review

adventurous funny tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Confinement, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Addiction, Grief, Kidnapping, Outing, and Cursing

Minor: Death of parent, Hate crime, and Vomit

katierosecrane's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.25

This book is heavily based on fairy tales (Beauty and the Beast). I didn’t finish this book the first time a read it but this time I was successful. From what I’ve heard from Maas fans this is her worst book, which for the record was a good book. There were some things I thought should be different in the book but still a great read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Kidnapping, Blood, Bullying, Grief, Alcoholism, Violence, Alcohol, Animal death, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Classism, Death, Torture, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Gaslighting, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Murder, and War

ettan's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

In some regards it feels like a fanfiction, but at these times its more funny and self-aware rather than cringe. I especeially remmeber a scene where the protagonist is asked about her previous love-life very early in the book. While it makes somewhat sense later it still felt very unnatural. The book also has some nice plot-twists and despite me not taking a liking to neither the protagonist nor the male-lead I found some other charatcers quite intruging and likely will be the reason I continue with the other books in the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Confinement, War, Slavery, and Sexual content

orthopyroxene's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

I really expected this book to be garbage. I generally cannot stand first person narration so I listened to the audiobook which helps me focus on the plot and not the writing. It was enjoyable! Definitely worth the read if you like an easy fun fantasy romance. Sometimes things are popular for a reason! I had only ever heard these books described as “fairy porn” but the sex scenes were only a step or two above fade-to-black. There is a lot of icky sex used as a policial ploy and a lot of coercion and objectification of the main character. Despite it technically being YA, I would not recommend to young people who still fall into the trap of romanticizing that, because I don’t think the book does enough to condemn the abuse of power dynamics like that. Also it barely passes the bechdel test, and is definitely a Stockholm syndrome scenario. But in a world where game of thrones is the gold standard, I think this book deserves a fraction of the flack it receives. Let women enjoy things. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Sexual violence

Moderate: Kidnapping

Minor: Alcoholism

furreverreading's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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 first half of the book was a bit slow for me, but the second half picked up, and I enjoyed the ending. Some characters I have mixed feelings about, so it will be interesting to see how they develop in the next books, to see which way my feelings solidify. 
SJM writing was overall decent. I did get a little annoyed with the ways she tended to describe Feyres feelings or reactions to things. Such as “my bowels turned watery” and various forms of that. But it can be overlooked 🤷🏻‍♀️ 
Overall, it didn’t live up to the hype that I expected it to, but it wasn’t terrible. It was still a fun read, and I plan to read the next one soon! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Alcohol, Child death, Confinement, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Animal death, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Gore

tinator's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

2.5

It's not a bad book, but it's not the best book. If you want a romance in a fantasy setting, this is great. But personally the story feels flawed and a little stereotypical.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Kidnapping, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Animal death and Slavery

Minor: Death of parent

zuhh's review

adventurous medium-paced

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

2.25

This book was really great at setting the foundation for the second book. It really helped with the world building, but as a result, it was a little lacklustre. It was kind of like the first chapter of a book: you have to get through it so you can understand the rest of the book. It’s the first chapter of the series. That being said,

the Beauty and the Beast theme was interesting but made half the book very slow. I appreciate the dedication to slowly laying out information that would foreshadow the conclusion and allowing us to see their love grow naturally, but i nearly gave up at the halfway point because of how much Feyre seemed to lose her sense of self as she fell in love with Tamlin. She became more comfortable and unshackled by the worries of her mortal life, yes, but she almost became meek and docile in the home. Guess that kind of also explains why she didn’t fight to stay when Tamlin sent her back to the mortal realm. Everything can be explained away, but the main character was disappointing.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Sexual content, Vomit, Blood, Death, Excrement, Gore, and Torture

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Classism

Minor: War, Sexual harassment, and Slavery

Uninteresting characters, except for Rhysand. Curious to know where his storyline takes him.

lizzye33's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Classism, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Hate crime, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Gore, Grief, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, War, and Vomit

Minor: Sexual content, Slavery, Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexism, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Medical trauma

rory18's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Body horror, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Gore, Sexism, Slavery, Alcohol, Colonisation, Confinement, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Torture, Sexual content, War, Kidnapping, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Chronic illness, Grief, Mental illness, Addiction, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Religious bigotry

sskalon's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

2.0

If this were a fanfiction, I would have spared it. 
Instead, it is a dully published book, with the writing of a middle grader, and insufferable main character.
I liked the idea, though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Alcohol, Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, Vomit, Violence, Alcoholism, Animal death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Torture