Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Crimson Moth by Kristen Ciccarelli

10 reviews

ruth_a's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Religious bigotry, Drug use, Physical abuse, Murder, Violence, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Grief

frantically's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.75

nina and matthias walked so rune and gideon could run
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I was enthralled from page one and god, Rune and Gideon have my heart 🥹 these two, you guys!! This is fake dating/betrothal and enemies to lovers at its absolute finest

While the worldbuilding feels a bit weak at times, I loved the morally grey aspect of all it. Both sides are kinda...shit and while the eradication of witches is obviously wrong, we learn so much about the Witch Queens that it's kinda hard to root for them, too!

The ending was a bit too rushed for me (and I think Alex was boring lol) but I'm still so so ready for the next book hihi

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Violence, Sexual content, Death, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence and Suicide

jordanog4's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Sexual assault, Violence, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gun violence

dani_reis's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

This is NOT YA. Stop trying to normalize sexual content in YA.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Torture, Blood, Classism, Death, Police brutality, Sexual content, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Minor: Self harm and Fire/Fire injury

sydnik3's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

i LOVED this book! the perfect mix of adventure, mystery, and romance for me in a fantasy world. 

i absolutely adored the main characters! our heroine was written very well I’d say. my only complaint about Rune is she mentions not really knowing who she is beyond her societal mask or the duty she feels to her Nan, but that was really it in the big picture, so I hope that’s expanded on in the second book, though with her predicament at the end I absolutely expect it to come back up. 

I also really loved our two main love interest. I think this is the first time I have EVER read a love triangle that I truly enjoy, and I think that has something to do with Rune not realizing one part of the triangle until practically the end of the book.  It was just so well done and didn’t feel like cliche love triangles.  It was also the first one I read where I wouldn’t mind Rune ending up with either interest. So good and so excited for the romance in the next one. 

Finally, I loved the dual but third person POV of this book. It was definitely YA writing, but I still really enjoyed it. For me it wasn’t a big deal, but I could definitely see people complaining about the plot twist being pretty obvious, but I think that was the point - to figure out the mystery. And I loved it because it made me want to keep reading to find out what was really going to happen and I had no less of an emotional reaction to the final chapters. 

I am so excited for the second book :) 5/5⭐️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Addiction, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcoholism

justagrlandherdog's review against another edition

adventurous 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

5.0

I loved this book. It felt like a cross between Serpent & Dove and The Bridge Kingdom, both of which are some of my favorite books. I loved both main characters Rune & Gideon and I’m excited to see how the climax of this book shapes them and where they are in the next one. 

And I will be making this book my whole personality until the next one comes out. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Classism, Death, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Child death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Torture, and Sexual assault

teganbeesebooks's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

4.5

I figured out the twist early on, but still enjoyed it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, War, Murder, Death of parent, Gun violence, Blood, Cursing, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Child death, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail

jennalerm's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Child death, Suicide, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent

kalynnar's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Classism, and Gun violence

lastblossom's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

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

tl;dr
A volatile romance with great cat-and-mouse moments, and plenty of drama.

Thoughts
It's rare that a book promising cat-and-mouse delivers quite as well as this one. Usually you only get a bit of banter before the kissing starts, but there are some real twists and deceptions locked up in this one, and I loved it. (Don't worry, there's also kissing.) Anyone looking for conflicted leads with angst and internal hurts will find plenty here to go around. The chemistry between Rune and Gideon is volatile, with a dash of spice, and a really believable enemies-to-lovers(?)-to-enemies(?) roller coaster relationship. World building is effective, with rules about the use of magic explained with quick, but consistent strokes. Author's notes mention The Scarlet Pimpernel (a personal favorite) as a light inspiration, and I can totally see the spaces where it peeks through. I will say that I have never seen a character marked for death so obviously as [Name Redacted], and when they died I found myself somewhat relieved that it finally happened so I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. Recommended reading for fans of morally gray, complex relationships, hunter vs. hunted relationships, and a splash of dark fantasy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Blood, Domestic abuse, and Violence

Minor: Classism