Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Gods & Monsters by Shelby Mahurin

8 reviews

theintrovertsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Cursing, Death of parent, Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Confinement

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Hate crime, Gore, Child death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Animal death, Alcohol, Grief, Abandonment, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Infidelity, Stalking, Misogyny, and Cannibalism

kat1105's review against another edition

dark emotional funny 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Classism, Death of parent, Murder, War, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Kidnapping, Death, and Torture

shelbibroeking's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a good conclusion to the series, which is hard to do. I wasn’t upset with the pacing—it was just right. The sentimentality and character growth was wonderful, as well. I love this world Shelby has brought us into with Lou and am sad to have to leave it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Child death and Emotional abuse

leedolee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

This series has easily stolen a place in my heart and these characters will truly remain favorites of my mine. 

The world, the magic, the action, the drama, the twists, the relationships, and the plot were outstanding! Yes, my least favorite trope was found in this book but I enjoyed the novel regardless. 

Lou and Reid will be one of my favorite ships. Always. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and War

Moderate: Alcohol

jessannderson's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Wow. My new favourite series. The character development was so natural and the ending was amazing. Can’t wait to read it all over again!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Grief

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders

theespressoedition's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-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? It's complicated

2.0

This review does contain spoilers, but I won't be hiding them because they'll be throughout - hence this warning.

Oof. This was an interesting end to this series. If you've read my reviews for the previous two, then you already know that this is not even close to my favorite series. I had a tough time with Serpent & Dove, primarily because the narrator of the audiobook really ruined the experience. I thought Blood & Honey would redeem it and that could possibly be one of my least favorite books of all time. Gods & Monsters was the final chance and... well, you can see my rating.

I will state right now that this was leaps and bounds better than Blood & Honey. But there were just so many things I disliked about it as well. It was really, really slow for the first 2/3 of the book. There were exciting moments, to be sure, but nothing that really made my heart race or keep my attention plastered to the page. The entire time that Nicholina was possessing Lou, I thought that she would lose her memories. That's what it was leading to - especially when she forgot Ansel and Beau while talking to the crowd of lost souls in her mind. Instead, she comes to with The Maiden's power and all her memories and within moments of that occurring, Reid loses all of his memories?! It was at this moment that if I was any other reader, I probably would've DNF'd. However, I kept going because this had to get better, right?

We go right back to the vibes from the first book: severe enemies-to-lovers. Reid absolutely loathes Lou again and wants to kill her for being a witch. Eventually, it's his lust for her that begins to redeem his memories and helps him see the "gold threads" again. Let me repeat that: sex helps him get his witchy powers back. Excuse me? That was the most anticlimactic and frustrating way for him to have that breakthrough.

Also, there was hardly any final battle. Beau lights Lou on fire, Claud kind of took over with his tree god thing, and Coco's mom dies (that entire scene is so gruesome that I was actually nauseous). There are several holes in the story that bother me now and I'll forget about later because I just don't care that much.

The only redeeming parts of this book were when Ansel showed up. Yes, yes, I know he's dead. He should never have died in the first place though and his character is really the only one I ever liked, so his appearances helped a little bit. Finding out at the beginning that he was the spectral dog - and the way he helps Lou beat Nicholina - was really sweet. The final chapter being his perspective of Reid and Lou's official wedding was also sweet. If only he was ALIVE. 

Big sigh. This series just isn't it for me. A grand total of 2-stars for the whole trilogy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Cannibalism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Grief

powellki's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Stalking, Violence, and War

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, and Grief

lgallo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Magic