Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman

47 reviews

darkpizza's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death of parent, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Classism, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Animal death, Torture, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexism, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Homophobia, Excrement, War, Vomit, and Misogyny

sheriffrockyraccoon's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense 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

5.0

I feel like I always have to knock stars off books for silly reasons, even if I liked them. Here, it is not the case. I was craving a good, medieval story and Google gave this book as the first result. I cannot believe Google just randomly offered me the best book I’ve read in YEARS.

I loved the references to Gnostic scripture and how it brought religion to life in such a way that now angels and God cannot be boring. That said, I believe this book can be enjoyed without being overly Christian- it’s a classic story about knights slaying monsters and supernatural forces that help him and his team along.

As a fan of Joan of Arc, I loved Delphine. Her character was compelling and fun, as were Matthieu and Thomas. This book is so funny with scenes packed with so much action I had to stop myself from reading too fast and savor it.

If you are a fan of knights, horror, and magic, I cannot recommend this book enough. It’s absolutely my favorite now.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Religious bigotry, Violence, Gore, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Cursing, Blood, Body horror, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Addiction, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Antisemitism, Excrement, Vomit, Sexual assault, Islamophobia, Torture, Pedophilia, and Grief

narsere's review

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad 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

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, and Body horror

Moderate: Animal death and Death of parent

anewlens's review

dark 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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Genocide, Sexism, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Violence, Body horror, Child death, Pandemic/Epidemic, War, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Death, Gore, Alcoholism, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Racism and Sexual assault

big_jorj's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Reading Soundtrack:
MÖRK BORG - Spotify playlist (Doom, Sludge and stoner metal)

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault

totemofundrying's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

What a wonderful book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Body horror, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Murder, Homophobia, Death, Blood, Pandemic/Epidemic, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, and Violence

Minor: Rape, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

jess_xen's review

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-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

5.0

"Between Two Fires" turned my stomach more than once. A masterpiece of horror, Buehlman has managed to wrote some of the best descriptions of Hell I've ever had the pleasurable displeasure of reading. 

The characters were so lovable, and when anything bad threatened to happen to them, I felt a visceral anxiety. The relationship between Thomas and Delphine reminded me of Geralt and Ciri from the Witcher series, but somehow placed in a more terrifying setting. 

Definitely worth a read for anyone who loves descriptive horror & medieval settings. Buehlman knocks it out of the park. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, War, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Gore, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Cannibalism, Animal death, and Cursing

colleen_corleone's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

I wasn't aware how much I loved these characters until the last 35% of the book where I started crying during different emotionally charged scenes.

The humor is wonderful and much needed as more horrific events unfold. I love their banter. I want to use cunting more often in sentences going forward. It's such a fun word to help break up the normal American swearing I do.

I love going into a book relatively blind, but for anyone who needs more context:

There is a cunting lot of gore, assault, death, dismemberment, cannibalism, unintentional necrophilia. That's in most chapters and part of the ever-present background of the world.

The relationship between Thomas and the young girl (whose name you learn later) is beautiful and bittersweet. He takes good if reluctant care of her.

For a general spoiler

Thomas and the girl make a friend whose death was the first time I cried, surprising myself. I didn't realize until that moment how much I loved loved these characters.

I cried three other times during deaths and hard battles. The general feeling of dread and/or terror keeps a low hum that built when I least expected it.

I am buying a physical copy to reread in the future.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Excrement, Alcohol, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Grief, Animal death, Antisemitism, and Vomit

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Body horror, and Self harm

polygonia's review

challenging dark tense medium-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pedophilia, Homophobia, Body horror, Rape, War, Genocide, and Sexual assault

vynna's review

adventurous dark 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

3.0

This was a very dark and brutal novel that started off strong, but gradually lost me by its conclusion. The story is set in the 1300s following a disgraced knight, a priest, and an orphaned girl. They set out on a journey through plague ridden France to essentially save the world from demons.
I was really intrigued by this premise and thoroughly enjoyed the banter between the main characters as well as the author’s imagery. I was often scared by the vivid detail used to describe the horrors that these characters experienced.

The stone statues in Paris and the scarecrow in the abandoned convent will stick with me for awhile.

The book felt really epic and cinematic at parts too, and I think it could make a wonderful series due to the episodic nature of the chapters.
I would’ve rated it higher, but sadly the weak plot, confusing narration, and underwhelming ending took away from my enjoyment.
They go on this great journey, but it feels hollow as they just bounce from town to town not exactly sure what they’re doing, just fighting monsters. It was fun to read, but left me wanting more. It isn’t until the last third of the book that it seems like the characters have a plan, but their actions and the aftermath of the big finale didn’t really make sense to me.
Definitely take heed of content warnings before reading as there is a lot of death, violence, strong language, etc. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Cursing, Violence, Rape, Child death, Death, Self harm, Gore, Pandemic/Epidemic, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, and Homophobia