Reviews tagging 'Grief'

A Ship of Bones and Teeth by Karina Halle

10 reviews

jordanbolker's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Took awhile to finish but overall it was good! Lots of great spicy scenes. Also cool to see a little mermaid and POTC combo! Definitely has some trigger warnings but if you like mature fairy tale fantasies, you’ll like it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Murder, Bullying, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault

lizzie_b99's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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

4.0

A delightful mix of The Little Mermaid, Pirates of the Caribbean, and

Twilight

. I really appreciate the detailed trigger warning list at the beginning of the book and the focus on self-acceptance throughout all the fantastical, graphic shenanigans. There was some unnecessary repetition of words/topics in the text, and I noticed more spelling errors near the end, but I really enjoyed this take on The Little Mermaid, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Love that Halle includes some recommended readings by her, but also other authors in her Afterword. I like the focus on accepting the monster within, but I'm a little unsure about how I feel with how far this book pushes this idea. It is a dark, gothic book, though, so that probably goes with the genre's territory. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, Murder, Violence, Alcohol, Body horror, and Cursing

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Rape, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

sierrayak's review

adventurous dark funny sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Grief, Emotional abuse, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

calliecuriosity's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Gore, Grief, Cursing, and Murder

stardust_heidi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional lighthearted mysterious sad 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

3.5

Okay, here’s the deal. I really enjoyed the story. The characters were great. I really loved the

pirate vampires

— that was a fun twist on the pirate trope. 

The execution of the story especially the writing and word usage, however, left a lot to be desired. At times I felt like the author was trying too hard for it to be a pirate theme, and it was just…too much. It made the language feel stilted and unwieldy. At times, I was just like, pick one speech pattern and stick with it. I’m not sure if this author uses a professional editor or not, but it could have used it. 

The darker elements felt kind of awkward to me as well. I don’t know. It was fun, but I was overall fairly disappointed in the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Kidnapping, Death, Blood, Confinement, Grief, and Violence

Some non-con situations

taking blood/vampire feeding

; attempted rape

kkxmac's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Self harm, Torture, Cannibalism, Child death, Physical abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Rape, Sexual content, Blood, and Emotional abuse

bangiebangs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense 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

5.0

5* from me.

So this is my first pirate romance (ever), and it delivered! I love Ramsay and I love Maren, and I read this off two lines quoted in some short video and knew nothing else about anything. Which was exactly the right way to read this, I think!

The pacing is really good, there is humor, it's frustrating sometimes (so angsty all around) but the characters' actions make sense. They talk about what is going on with them emotionally. Maybe not always instantly, but the fact that this doesnt have a lot of the miscommunication trope is a HUGE plus. It actually felt so much more real: sometimes you can tell what's up, sometimes you need a while to get the courage to speak. You grow, you leave things behind. 

Idk why this gripped me so much, but pretty sure that this detail sold me 100%, and I'm sure I will re-read this. 

“Play nice,” he warns, his grip tight and bruising as he presses me against the wall.
I manage to move my throat enough to spit in his face. My spit lands on his forehead, a sliver of fish bone in it. He grunts and reaches up with his other hand, wiping it away.
“Do it again,” he whispers, eyes dancing darkly. “This time in my mouth, please.” He opens his mouth, showing me his tongue, wanting it. Damn it. Everything that’s uncouth and repulsive about me he somehow loves. 
He shuts his mouth and grins. “Fine. Just know I will be returning the favor one day.”

Like omg yes. 

By the way, I didn't get the Jack Sparrow vibe that others talk about here. Yes, there is rum, but Ramsay often stays sober, isn't some whacky figure, just a hard-ass pirate (and kinky af). 

So TL;DR this is dark romance, it's believable, it has pirates and sirens and cursed ships and it is dark. Heed the CNs, and if you're sensitive to violence,

esp spousal and sexual abuse,

maybe skip this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body shaming, Gun violence, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Abandonment, Violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Vomit, and Cursing

seaofbooks3's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Cursing, Blood, Torture, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexism, Physical abuse, Murder, and Emotional abuse

millenialglowworm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny fast-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

5.0

I’ve never read a mermaid or a pirate story before picking this up. I’m glad that Halle’s work was my first! I love the characters in this story and even though there is tragedy and horror elements, it was full of adventure and 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️!! I’m also glad Halle answered a question I had through out the book about the HOW of mermaid….relations 😅. Ramsey and Maren’s banter had me laughing. I’m usually not a reader who relishes on the setting of a book but Halle does a great job of describing the scenery and feeling of all the places the book takes place. Halle is definitely one of my favorite authors!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Gore, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping

Minor: Death of parent, Child death, and Confinement

prettynerdy3's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence