Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos

66 reviews

matcha_pages's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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

4.0

Absolutley adore the whimisical and magical elements of this book! It's very Howl's Moving Castle/ Studio Ghibli in that regard. 

I warmed up to Ophelia and Thorn as the book progressed. I initially thought they were shallow and cliche. But after seeing the experiences and societal influences that shaped them I grew to appreciate them. 
The plot was intriguing, Ophelia is a fish out of water. You don't know who Ophelia can actually trust and this creates a natural tension between characters. I'll definitely continue the series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse

amartin48's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

This book was everything I asked for, I didn’t quite understand what I was asking for, but I ended up really enjoying this read! The world building is mind bending and takes a lot of focus to sort out all the pieces. Of the three main locations in this book, each are VASTLY different. I loved the test of memory and comprehension this book gave me, and it builds suspense between characters beautifully. It took me 200pgs to really get into it, but I’m excited to read the next in the trilogy! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Gore, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Confinement, Drug use, Bullying, Blood, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, and Police brutality

Minor: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Violence, Suicide, and Pregnancy

siomhaw's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Police brutality, Classism, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Genocide, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, and Child abuse

Minor: Vomit, Infertility, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide

clairebear99's review

adventurous mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Physical abuse

litliz's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Gaslighting, Bullying, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Violence

Minor: Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Infidelity, Misogyny, Torture, Incest, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexism, and Suicide

frazzledreader's review

adventurous emotional mysterious relaxing tense slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Bullying

Minor: Child death

jstilts's review

adventurous emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

The first part in a series, this book nevertheless is just about satisfying for the emotional/confidence journey it takes the lead upon (albeit slightly rushed at the end but I carries through well enough in book 2). I won't recap the plot as that would remove the tension, but this book is basically about an arranged marriage between two countries - but our lead character has been kept in the dark about how much danger this marriage will expose her to, to the point where she has to spend half the book in disguise amongst those who wish her dead. It's an interesting mix of fantasy and what could have been a period drama (almost a Jane Austen romance but one gone deliciously wrong). It probably wouldn't have been enough to be one or the other, but both genres combined lift this into a compelling tale of intrigue as she tries to survive the world she has been thrust into, and rise above the limited role she is being forced to play.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Classism, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Racism, and Bullying

Minor: Animal death, Infidelity, Drug use, Abandonment, Alcohol, Murder, Violence, and Miscarriage

kkshaye's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Death, Sexism, Murder, and Suicide

Minor: Child death and Miscarriage

katclaybaugh's review

adventurous mysterious relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a really fun read. The world building was excellent. It broke out of a lot of the cliches of the genre. I really look forward to getting the next book in the series! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Misogyny, Death, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Drug use, Police brutality, and Violence

This was all fairly mild and definitely YA appropriate.

mariavdl's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Infidelity, Child death, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Confinement, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy