Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos

30 reviews

torturedreadersdept'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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

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

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.

---

Content Warnings

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

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

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! 

---

Content Warnings

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

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

This was all fairly mild and definitely YA appropriate.

issed's review

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.25

A reread- I need this injected into my veins 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Blood

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

stephaniemcuervo's review

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism

Moderate: Police brutality and Pregnancy

Minor: Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Murder

snickahz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Violence

Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, and Police brutality

Minor: Incest and Sexual harassment

kindredkayjay's review

adventurous dark emotional 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

Warning for spoilers.

I've seen the reviews of people disliking this book because of the way Ophelia is hardly treated like a person the entire time, and I understand it. Believe me, I was infuriated for Ophelia 95% of the time, but also? I'm hoping that she'll get herself to a place where she's proven herself and overcomes what she's faced with in the sequels. The tension between nearly all of the characters and the mystery and learning about the different magic systems with Ophelia was so interesting that I couldn't stop reading. I love a genuinely good hearted character, but what I love even more is a character so terrible that you want nothing more than to see their downfall. It's even more interesting when it's a small handful of decent (questionably decent anyway) characters entering a space full of the most vile people. If you don't enjoy being infuriated for the main character the entire time and hating just about everyone else, this book probably isnt for you. But if you do? Absolutely read it. I really liked it, and I'm reading the sequel soon.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Child death, Infidelity, Blood, Abandonment, and Alcohol

amazelan'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? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism

Minor: Drug abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, Abandonment, and Alcohol

skudiklier's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Honestly, I just couldn't get into this one. I might have even DNF'd it if it hadn't been an audiobook. It was interesting enough on some levels, and I cared about what happened to Ophelia, but in some ways it just felt like a bunch of sad/frustrating/confusing things happening over and over. Like every once in a while the situation would change but it never got better, and I just didn't feel very engaged on most levels. It's well-written I think but it's just not for me. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Blood, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicide

royalraspberry's review against another edition

mysterious

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

3.5

This is a really interesting one because I think it's really outside the wheelhouse of what I normally read - I picked it up for a reading challenge because someone had it listed under "book about your favorite season, winter" and that gets a hard disagree from me, but I did put it under "book with a misleading title". 

The writing in this book was absolutely lovely. That said it is 50% world building and 50% political intrigue.  And the world building was absolutely spectacular, I really enjoyed all of it. Dabos has created an incredibly interesting world filled with interesting characters (none of whom are trustworthy, but that's part of the fun). But there was just so *little* plot in the book that I really, really struggled. 

If you're into fantasy books heavy on character development and world building, this is absolutely the right book for you. It's well written and the narrator for the audio book is completely enchanting to listen to, she brings the rich, beautiful world into a new depth. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Blood, Police brutality, and Murder