Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

A Touch of Malice by Scarlett St. Clair

14 reviews

rchulin1's review

challenging dark emotional funny 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Vomit, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, War, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Grief, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Classism, Death, Dementia, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Cursing, Death of parent, Gore, and Panic attacks/disorders

angelofthetardis's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Hades and Persephone should be ecstatically happy. They are madly in love, engaged to be married and rulers of their own domain. Except Persephone is still struggling to process her recent trauma, her mother is holding New Athens in an icy grip until they separate, Zeus is yet to grant his blessing on their union, and a conspiracy to topple the Olympians is afoot. 

Overall, I think it's the best paced and most enjoyable story of the series to date. I'm enjoying seeing Persephone grow into her powers and the slow expansion of the 'found family' (even if most of them are actually related in some way...), the twists and turns of the over-arching narrative and Hades just being Hades. And for the first time, I didn't get annoyed by Persephone's immaturity - her character has shifted in to something a little more befitting of the future Queen of the Underworld; she's still a little bit immature and naive in places, but the darker thread of her power coming to the surface and the development of her persona to match Hades, gaining satisfaction from the torture of the souls of those that wrong people makes her feel far more rounded. 

That being said, there's a small part of my brain berating me for liking this. I think my main issue is that, while the trauma Persephone went through in the last book is addressed and it does affect her relationship with Hades, it only feels like it's addressed on a surface level and then discarded in favour of a quick recovery. Likewise, the sufferings of other characters are dismissed fairly quickly and one dimensionally - the author had a great opportunity to give us a deeper insight and context into Demeter's motives, but instead it's referred to in a single sentence and she's branded a hopeless case. 

I also think the author has come to rely on the spicy scenes as a bit of a crutch. Persephone claims that she feels at her most powerful when in bed with Hades, and that could be illustrated so, so well to add layers to the story. But instead, it feels like the choice was quantity over quality, and for the most part Hades is the one in the position of power IMO. She can certainly write the scenes, I just think she needs to be more selective about placing them.

As before, I do like the way the author has seamlessly weaved in elements of various myths to expand the world, and reading some of her explanations in the Author's Notes really make these moments stand out. In particular, I like the twist in the character of Helen, the development of Apollo's character and acknowledgement of his past errors, and the continued back and forth between Aphrodite and Hephestus.

The writing is far from perfect and I would kill for more depth, but I couldn't help but enjoy this. Looking forward tonreading Hades' POV shortly!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Torture, Body horror, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcoholism, Rape, Stalking, Infertility, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Gore, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Child death, and Blood

kitten's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Death of parent, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Infertility, and Stalking

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Car accident, Child death, Sexual assault, Confinement, Grief, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Murder, Self harm, Sexism, Outing, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Stalking, Toxic friendship, War, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Abandonment, and Alcohol

kimmy0__0's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Probably my favorite of the series so far. Lots of spicy scenes, but mostly just loved how the story progressed and the growth we saw in Persephone. So excited for Game of Gods!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Classism, Sexual content, War, Violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Violence, Sexual assault, Mass/school shootings, Toxic friendship, Death, Bullying, and Sexual violence

Minor: Death of parent, Rape, and Grief

denisa13's review against another edition

adventurous funny 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Kidnapping, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Torture, Rape, Sexual assault, Child death, Murder, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

ewarde's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

4.5

3rd book. Best book. I devoured the first two books as well, but this one takes the cake. The pace was quick and just kept you wanting more. She leaves us on a major cliffhanger, so I can't wait for the release of the 4th book in September!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Death

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Stalking, Rape, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment

meh697's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Panic attacks/disorders

jojomar's review

adventurous dark 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

5.0

This book was a journey. Persephone and Hades go through so much and grow closer through all of it. Both characters are faced with both personal and family drama. There’s love, humour, grief, and rage. SSC really captures how these characters feel and how their interactions effect not only themselves but everyone around them. And that ending, killed me! Overall it’s another great addition to the PersephonexHades series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Torture

Moderate: Sexual assault, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders

ellesmith's review

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Murder, Sexual assault, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

Moderate: Death and Vomit

Minor: Stalking, Rape, and Infertility