Reviews with content warning for Murder - Lightlark

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Lightlark by Alex Aster

34 reviews

natashareadsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging lighthearted 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? Yes

4.5

Ilsa is a young ruler of Wilding - a realm of temptresses cursed to kill anyone they fall in love with. They are feared and despised. But Ilsa has a secret. One that no one can know. And she is heading to the Centennial a deadly game that is played every hundred years to try and end the curses of all the realms.

Ilsa must lie and cheat and even betray to survive... But each of the six ruler's coming into the Centennial this year has something to hide. Each curse upon the realms is uniquely wicked. And to destroy the curses... One ruler must die.

"And I don’t know what I enjoy more. Replaying the image of my sword against your throat . . . or thinking about how your heart might look on my plate.” Grim’s dark eyes flashed with amusement. “Careful, Hearteater,” he whispered, towering over her, standing far too close. “I might just give it to you."

So I have been in a reading slump for weeks now, again, and decided to finally pick up Lightlark. I love a good fantasy and shadow Daddy, so this checked those boxes. I didn't know what to expect going in, because I didn't know anything about Lightlark. - I don't read the blurbs or anything about a book before hand & just dive in blind.

But I loved this book. I loved how strong and fierce Ilsa was - she was a warrior, and stronger than even the best of the opponents that she was up against. While her secret could just be the thing that kills her, she didn't let that stop her or slow her down. She did whatever it took to try and save her people and the people she cares about.

She made allies & enemies along the way during the Centennial.

There was Celeste - Ruler of Starling, cursed to die at twenty five. Ilsa's friend she had made prior to the games. They kept their alliance a secret, trying to best not only their opponents but to break the curses.

Grim - Ruler of Nightshade, cursed to perish if they are outside after nightfall, and one of the most powerful people Ilsa has ever met- but he has his own motives and agenda that Ilsa can't figure out.

Oro - King and ruler of Sunling, cursed to burn in the sunlight. And he can't stand Wildings and all they have become.

Azul - ruler of Skyling, whose curse was losing the ability to fly, but willing to do anything to break the curses.

Cleo - ruler of Moonling, and cursed with the sea becoming deadly every full moon, but that hasn't stopped her realm from building ships and an army.

All of them have something to hide, and all will do whatever it takes to break their curses. Can Ilsa trust any of the other rulers in the games, or will they fail at breaking the curses that has plagued them all for hundreds of years?

I loved this story, this world and these characters. Although I did guess a major twist early on- it wasn't exactly as it had seemed. Overall, I enjoyed this book & cannot wait to see what happens next!

If you love fantasy, shadow Daddy's & high stake games, I definitely recommend picking up Lightlark!

4.5⭐ out of 5⭐.

1🌶️ out of 5🌶️. - tame, sexual tension, fade to black with minimal details.

Tropes:

→ ya fantasy

→ romantasy

→ Enemies to lovers

→ shadow daddy

→ trials/contest

→ forced proximity

→ "who did this to you?"

→ knife to throat scene

→ he falls first

→ love triangle

Content Warnings

hobbit_96's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I liked this book a lot. I was hesitant because all I saw was booktok bashing it. Now I think their claims are based on the level of smut they want in a book 🙄

This is a great book if you want fantasy that has nothing to do with fae and doesn’t have smut/romance every other page. It’s a slow burn, but even who she ends up with was a surprise for me. I like how the love interests (it’s a love triangle of sorts but more two people like the same person) didn’t think with their lower heads (does Grim get a pass?) for most of the book.
The romance is subtle which I love, and not really the main point of the book.

I absolutely loved the plot because it’s refreshing to me and I was mad that the book ended in a cliffhanger. I want to know what happens!! Especially with Isla’s new…situations. Also, wondering if one of the male MCs will turn villain? So much to ponder 🤔

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spatterson7's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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

Content Warnings

izzyreadswhilequilting's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

mj_86's review against another edition

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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? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

esterslibrary's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging 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? Yes

4.25

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ev_ve's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring 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

4.0

The plot twists WILL alter your brain chemistry. Be ready for everything to change in a split second

Content Warnings

scribesquadrant_sierra's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

Overall Rating: (2.5/5 stars)

Spice Rating: (0.25/5 peppers)

Summary: Every 100 years Lightlark, an island that hosts a deadly game, appears for the rules of the six realms to compete in a deadly game to free the mysterious curses that have plagued their land. Isla, the Wildling ruler, is unlike the rest of the realm rulers. She doesn’t have magic to offer…or to protect her. This book follows her journey filled with curses, magic, books, and romance.

What I loved:

-Not much. This book was difficult to read.

What I hated:

-Isla, the FMC. She is one of the most unintelligent FMC I’ve ever read.

-The story. The game rules are confusing in some cases and repetitive in others. Not only that, Isla keeps breaking the rules and no one seems to care at all.

-The love triangle that doesn’t work.

-The romance. It seems awkward and forced.

Content Warnings

lawbooks600's review against another edition

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dark 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

3.0

Representation: N/A
Score: Five points out of ten.

Oh, look, another BookTok book. I got this one alongside others from the library and after enjoying another novel, Lightlark seemed right up my alley. A high YA fantasy story? That sounds like an outstanding read. I finally picked it up and read Lightlark, but when I finished it, I was underwhelmed. Maybe Nightbane could be better.

It starts with the first character I see, Isla Crown, living in Wildling, one of the six realms, wanting to restore its glory after the curse plagued the world she resides in. She has an opportunity to do so when the central island, Lightlark, rises, allowing six rulers to fight to the death to remove their afflictions. There are so many flaws in Lightlark, I don't know where to begin. The pacing is too tedious and not engaging enough for me to continue reading. A typical edition would clock in at under 400 pages, but this one had over 700 due to the large print. I couldn't connect or relate to the characters. The worldbuilding isn't there; there's no explanation as to why the ordeals are there. If curse-affected Wildlings must kill their partners, how come Isla fell in love with someone without murdering him? The writing style is rudimentary (I get it. The author could've used that writing method to make Lightlark more accessible, but it juxtaposes the setting and the text would be better off as more eloquent prose.) Did I mention Lightlark copied The Hunger Games? To equate the former to authors like Marie Lu, Marissa Meyer and Leigh Bardugo would be an insult. By the time the narrative ended, I didn't care about anything in there anymore.

To summarise, Lightlark joins a long line of underwhelming, overrated and overhyped BookTok publications that did not live up to their promises, like A Winter's Promise and The Hazel Wood.

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greystory's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

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

2.75

2.5-3 stars
I liked the premise so I finally went for it. It was eh. The writing itself was alright. Not good, not great, but not bad either. My biggest complaint was the sheer YA-ness of it all which kind of isn't fair to hold against it. I was going to say this wasn't predictable like I thought it would be but in the end, it was, it just took longer getting there than anticipated.

I also don't love the sort of love triangle. Nor the massive maturity gap in the end relationship. I had unanswered questions at the end, which was a bummer given we had to sit through that extended antagonist monologue revealing stuff (unfortunately some of the same stuff more than once because Isla wasn't getting it for some reason).

Notes I jotted down while reading: (beware there be spoilers)

* She keeps referring to Grimm as having done her a favor when he implied there'd be a duel, but I find that to be a stretch. Everyone in the challenge had a sword so it wasn't like she would have been without one, right? And if you're preparing for this event your whole life, why wouldn't you have a suit of armor prepared or part of your plans? I found this really confusing.

* The severe training memories and reminders of being trained her whole life were at odds with Isla's general unpreparedness. Some of them training memories especially made no sense. These are regular humans with some magical abilities right? It's not possible to hang from something for 5 hours straight. Even if she could, doing it once like a decade ago does not prepare one for a swordfight. That does not translate, at all.

* The whole relationship with Grimm felt rushed and built on absolutely nothing. He flirted a little bit with her and she was so attention starved she was eating it up, apparently.

* She gets a secret from the secret dude Juniper and at 25% in, it's implied she can only ever get one secret from him. Why would she waste it on asking about getting around the moon guards? The answer was to wait until the full moon because the moon guards would have to be inside because all of the moonlings have to be indoors during it. How is that not basic information you already have about the moonlings? Shouldn't she or Celeste already know this??

* More of the Grimm relationship nonsense. Isla's making choices like I guess someone in their early 20s in their first ever romantic foray would but god is it frustrating and embarrassingly foolish.

* Isla is constantly telling herself she can't trust anyone and then going and trusting everyone.

* She will literally do things that make no sense. "Isla had to be quick!" then 2 seconds later she melodramtically kneeled on the floor, sighing and dwelling on her situation with emo lenses for awhile instead of doing anything. Ma'am. Ma'am, I can't with you.

* Isla is really not the brightest at times

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