Reviews tagging 'Grief'

A Shadow Crown by Melissa Blair

13 reviews

datgirllani's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? No

5.0

“There was something achingly beautiful about knowing that he was the only one to see me entirely, my scars, my past, my names, while I was the only one who had seen him. We were both people who had receded into our pain, hiding ourselves away, only to find a refuge in each other. How could I ever want anyone else but him?”. I absolutely adored the first book and this one did not disappoint either. While reading, I could really feel Keera’s hurt and the influence of how hard it was for her to try to make peace with the Elverin. While romance does play a role in the book it is not the key note here. Though those few moments we get certainly make up for it. Seeing how the relationships between Keera (the main character) and Riven, Nikolai, and Syrra become more close and intimate was one of my favorite things to read. We get to see many new sides of Keera as she deals with love, loss, hurt and acceptance. The writing is very nice. I love how the author turns what could have been a few simple words into a deep, impactful sentence. I could go on and on about how much I love this book, series, and author. Please give it a read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Slavery, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Blood, Drug abuse, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Injury/Injury detail

rachelfayreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, Self harm, Genocide, and Grief

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and War

bergha1998's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I don’t know if I liked this one as much as the first one. It just feels a little dragged out. Like the writer wanted it to be a trilogy but didn’t have enough ideas to fill it out enough. The world building keeps getting more and more interesting, though. 

Fantasy, Found Family, Fated Mates, 2 1/2 🔥

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Abandonment, Sexual content, Murder, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Torture, Violence, War, Alcoholism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Racism

_alyssar_'s review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death of parent, Slavery, Vomit, Gore, Kidnapping, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Blood

elskede's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, and Gaslighting

sophia_teknoe's review against another edition

• 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Grief, Torture, Colonisation, and Self harm

ljp817's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Grief, Self harm, and Violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Addiction

Minor: Ableism, Gore, Blood, Torture, Drug abuse, Confinement, War, and Alcoholism

melissaslibraryy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Classism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, Medical content, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Sexual content, Cursing, Genocide, Torture, Body horror, and War

starrysteph's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-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

3.75

Okay Melissa Blair!! A Shadow Crown starts RIGHT where A Broken Blade left off - and in my opinion, adds much more depth to the world and characters.

Keera is bound to serve the king as his Blade - his top killer and spy. But she’s secretly been working against him, with his youngest son Prince Killian and the Shadow, Riven (whom she may just be falling for). They’re conspiring to defeat the immortal ruler once and for all and bring safety back to the kingdom.

But not everyone is trustworthy, and plans are thwarted one by one. Keera has to protect her people, find a potential spy, and navigate the depths of her own grief while uncovering the truth of her own identity.

I appreciate how accessible and engaging this series is. I think Blair’s writing has already improved tremendously from book one, and the pacing worked perfectly for me here. The overall arc of A Shadow Crown is much slower than the action-packed A Broken Blade, but there were still interesting things happening during each bite-sized chapter. I particularly enjoyed some new side characters, including earnest librarian Vrail.

This readability allows for brilliant overarching themes such as colonization, racism, trauma & grief, addiction, identity, and so much more to be highlighted and ingrained in every aspect of the world and characters. 

There were a few plot stumbles for me - mostly around Keera’s judgment and intellect (which I felt took a big dip here when compared with her decision-making in book one). I also felt like the writing was a bit awkward and clunky at times, and occasionally the tropey elements were overused without any clever subversions or fresh angles.

But there were so many captivating moments here - a few explosive battle scenes, but mostly a lot of emotional heart and growth and learning to live through loss and trauma. 

And the ending?! I can’t wait for book three.

CW: colonization, death, violence, self harm, murder, grief, confinement, gore, war, injury, genocide, abuse, slavery, suicidal thoughts, torture, fire, abandonment, addiction, mental health, racism, sexual violence, sexual content

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(I received an advance reader copy of this book; this is my honest review.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Self harm, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Death, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Grief, Abandonment, Mental illness, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, War, Genocide, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Racism, Drug abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

kowhaiii's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

Fantastic. Much more character focused than the last book, which is great because these characters are wonderful! I can't wait for book three. The worldbuilding is so enthralling and it feels so tangible on the pages. The characters really drive it home for me and we get some backstory for them all in this book. Yay!

I do have a few bones to pick with this installent of the series, unfortunately. There are quite a few typos and simple mistakes in this book, which was surprising considering how polished the previous one was. I was sometimes confused by the sentences and had to reread them a few times, and in places the writing was simply incorrect. This took away from the reading experience for me. I'm a stickler for spelling errors and grammar mistakes, alas.

I have mixed feelings on the ending of this book. No spoilers, but there is a big reveal that I didn't think was foreshadowed in a satisfying way. To me the ending was a bit rushed and felt disjointed from the remainder of the narrative. The ending made sense in theory, but is just didn't feel "right", for lack of a better word. Definitely the weakest point in the story for me. I understand fast pacing, but as a reader I needed more time to digest the newly revealed information before the big finale kicked off. Overall this book was great and tore at my heartstrings in all the best ways. I think the ending was a bit of a let down and thus this book pales in comparison compared to A Broken Blade. Great series, great author, and I cannot wait for the next one! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Violence, Self harm, Murder, Sexual content, War, Confinement, Alcoholism, and Death

Minor: Vomit, Police brutality, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Alcohol, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, War, Misogyny, and Death of parent