Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Dark Night Golden Dawn by Allison Carr Waechter

5 reviews

bree_h_reads's review against another edition

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

1.5

For a book that I thought started pretty strong, rating it so low is such a disappointment.

I LOVED how casually queer it was. I loved the setup of immortals and immortal adjacent being high society and needing to navigate that. I love how the MC’s history was hinted at and implied and it gave us a sense of the dynamics between her and the other characters and how fragile they were. And I LOVED how much it reminded me of Pride & Prejudice and Bridgerton.

HOWEVER I felt like it fell off at the middle. The MC and LI had a conflict from their past and it would take a lot to work through and resolve. And while the book handled recovering from an unhealthy relationship fairly well, this conflict was just brushed over. This was an early sign for the rest of the plot where issues and plot points were rushed through, information was dumped onto the audience, and the romance was FLOWN through and felt rushed.

My only other notable issues were how easy it was to get lost while magic was being practiced. Everything was described in a really loose way, which can work to emphasise how other worldly it is, but if it’s to the detriment of the reader understanding what’s happening in the scene it ought to be reworked. Finally, as always, these characters were REALLY horny at REALLY weird times. Like y’all should not be thinking about hooking up in the remains of your ex, just saying.
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teaand_tomes's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad 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 found the plot of Dark Night Golden Dawn to be incredibly intricate and filled with intriguing lore and mystery. The exploration of the Scroll of Akatei and its significance to the characters' past, present, and future has left me curious and eager to uncover its secrets.

The relationship between Finn and Harlow, with its second-chance romance, was charming. While I enjoyed their reconciliation, I personally would have appreciated a bit more angst before they reunited.

The author skillfully portrayed Harlow's dark and complex emotions, making her a relatable and tangible character. I appreciated how the author depicted Harlow navigating her struggles both independently and with the support of her loved ones. The moments where Harlow withdrew from others in response to stress and overwhelming emotions felt incredibly realistic.

I particularly enjoyed how the story initially resembled a fantasy version of Pride & Prejudice, with its five sisters, well-meaning parents, and high society gentlemen reminiscent of Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley. However, I also appreciated the deviations from this familiar path, allowing the story to pay homage to Jane Austen's classic without simply reinterpreting it.

Overall, Dark Night Golden Dawn is a captivating fantasy romance set in a contemporary world of magic, deception, and betrayal. Its intricate plot, well-developed characters, and realistic exploration of emotions make for an engaging read. I eagerly anticipate diving further into The Immortal Orders Trilogy and discovering what lies ahead for Finn and Harlow.
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unsuccessfulbookclub's review

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challenging emotional 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

3.75

The pacing in this bad boy is ALL over the place and it really feels like a romance author deciding to write fantasy vs the other way around. I wanted a lot more emphasis on the plot, magic system and politics, because there is some EPIC stuff going on here but instead we live in Harlow’s head for 80% of the book and the girl has some things she has to WORK ON, ok? And that is fair but it makes the book a little boring until the last 15%, which I have to say I absolutely loved. Will I be reading book two? Yes.
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madele's review against another edition

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2.5

I usually dnf books if I feel they're gonna be less than 3 stars but this one was cruising along at a solid 3/3.25 and was good enough until the ended was so bizarre and nonsensical I had to fix this. Also if you're gonna be a
shifter romance you need to tell me. Because it's not for me and it's fine that you're a shifter romance I just won't read you but you just SPRING shifter romance on me as a part of the PLOT like I have to put this in a spoiler bc it's a PLOT REVEAL and I am against this morally I'm so furious.
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finnickdeservedbetter's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

Tropes/Themes:
second chance, friends to enemies to lovers, enemies to allies to friends, healing from abuse, ancient war, oppressive rulers, rare powers


Rep:
bi (1+ character (fmc)), lesbian (2+ characters), gay (2 characters), non-binary (2 characters), wlw (5 characters), nblm (2 characters), aro-ace (1 character)

+ are due to the main character's parents who are wlw but it's never specified if they're bi, lesbian, pan, etc.


Written review to come
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