Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

134 reviews

pooxs's review against another edition

adventurous fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Slavery, Blood, Toxic relationship, and War

sunflower7skull's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

I thought it was a good book! I went into it knowing a ton of people like it, which I think was my problem - I was expecting exceptionality, and though the book definitely was, it didn't live up to the hype in my head. I still would definitely recommend it though!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, War, and Violence

connora795's review

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

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

2.0

The character development in this book was extremely weak. Character understands her true power to solve every problem. Weird. Also the romance was extremely rushed and forced 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Sexual content

bergha1998's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Not my favorite of the series, but it’s definitely not bad. It just feels rushed in comparison; there isn’t enough development of characters, plot, or the world building. Also, I get shipping the Darkling and Alina in the tv show, but book him is flat. 

Fantasy, Magic System, Romance Subplot

“I’d catch myself walking around to find you, not for any reason, just out of habit, because I’d seen something that I wanted to tell you about or because I wanted to hear your voice. And then I’d realize that you weren’t there anymore, and every time, every single time, it was like having the wind knocked out of me.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Blood, Murder, Violence, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, War, and Sexism

Minor: Sexual harassment and Rape

patchedspines's review

dark medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Toxic relationship, Murder, Death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: War

jstar1's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Blood, War, Bullying, Torture, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Animal death, Violence, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Murder, Self harm, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Death of parent and Sexual content

cnannery19's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death, Violence, War, Murder, Abandonment, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Suicidal thoughts

rafacolog's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Murder, Death, Violence, and Blood

justcallmeemily's review

adventurous dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I continue to not understand why people dislike this book so much. I had so much fun reading it and I can't wait to read the rest of this series. 

I didn't want to put it down at all. I felt so immersed into the world that at times I genuinely felt like I was there. 

The only reason it's not a 5 star is because I didn't feel like anything in the plot was surprising. Of course I was very happy when I guessed the plot twist but I shouldn't have been able to guess everything that was going to take place throughout the book. I guess what I'm trying to say is, it was a little too predictable for my tastes. Even when I was actively trying not to guess where it was going to go.

Thankfully, predictablility doesn't mean I can't thoroughly enjoy a story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Trafficking, Violence, Death, Slavery, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Genocide, Toxic relationship, and Animal death

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and War

filipacmiranda's review

3.5

Shadow and Bone dumps the reader into Alina Starkov's journey as a cartographer turned Grisha. As a main character, Alina is somewhat relatable. She kept trying to find her place and belong - something everyone experiences at some point. And, even though she spent half the book sulking, I can give her a pass because she was emotionally deregulated and lost after being torn from the only person who reminded her of home. 

The reader learns things at Alina's pace and gets familiarised with Grisha orders as the story progresses. The lack of an explanation for how Ravka and the Grand/Little Palace worked made the story seem more natural and aligned with her discovery of a new reality. The fact that there's no magic system in this book (with the Small Science being the manipulation of the elements) also made the world it displays seem closer to reality. 

This was a pleasurable read with intriguing characters. After seeing how the Netflix show expanded on the original content and considering all the underlying storylines, I believe it could have benefited from other points of view. 

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1st Read (2020): 4.00 stars 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal death, and Violence

Moderate: Murder and Toxic relationship

Minor: Sexual assault