Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos

8 reviews

arwen4's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Classism, and Police brutality

Minor: Infidelity, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Murder, Death, Suicide, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Violence, Addiction, Xenophobia, Drug use, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content

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

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

brennagraphs's review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Bullying, and Classism

Minor: Child death and Child abuse

taaya's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

1.0

 Die Protagonistin macht nichts außer husten, der Weltenbau konzentriert sich viel zu sehr auf Details am Pol und ignoriert die großen, wichtigen Fragen, die man vorab hätte klären müssen und ... joa, wenn man auf Intrigen einer Adels-Daily-Soap steht, ist das hier vielleicht was für einen. Tu ich aber nicht. Daher versteh ich den Hype leider gar nicht. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Abandonment, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Miscarriage

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.

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Content Warnings

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

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

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

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Content Warnings

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

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

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

stllyltc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing 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? It's complicated

5.0

It's an easy read and the world building is also easy to follow, from the prologue till the next chapters, how the metaphors are used is essential and pleasing when it evokes a play to create the figment world. This is really more plot driven and if you're looking for romance it's basically just a sublot since Book One focuses on introducing how the system functions and the characters which serve a purpose throughout the story. I'm excited to read the second book and want to see more of Gail and Mother Hildegarde, even some of Ophelia's siblings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Torture, and Violence