Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Dark Night Golden Dawn by Allison Carr Waechter

16 reviews

supergirled's review

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emotional mysterious reflective 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

3.75

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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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steffandbooks's review

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adventurous challenging mysterious 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

One of my favorites reads this year, for sure!
I have been searching for a good adult fantasy romance for so long, I was already telling myself that the stuff I am looking for apparently only exists in FBAA and ACOTAR/Cresent City. I don't need constant spice, but one or two really good scenes I do appreciate and I got this here.

However, the romance is solely a sub plot here, so if you're looking to read a smutty book, this is not the one for you. The actual plot however, dang... it feels like this is a mix of Bridgerton, Cresent City and A Discovery of Witches. And I love all of these, so, naturally, I devoured this book. Never seen any of the plot twists coming and it was so interesting to see how the immortals and the magic in this world is displayed.

And, obviously, I got a new book boyfriend. Finn McKay. Boy, don't get me started. Him and the FMC were childhood friends to lovers to enemies to lovers again. Do I need to say more? Okay, if the second chance romance didn't convince you... HE KNEELS IN FRONT OF HER, in order not to scare her away and let her know that he is not mad at her but the situation in general. He falls first, or should I say, he never fell out of love with her? And he has FANGS (no, he's not a vampire)!

The FMC struggled with a really toxic relationship in the past and has many issues to work through throughout the whole book and her healing process takes a lot of time. Do check trigger warnings because there are some heavy topics being discussed. The author even has content warning in her book herself.

And lastly, what I really liked here as well was the LGBTQ+ content. It felt so natural in this books, FMC is bi, her best friend is bi and reminds me so much of Cinna (The Hunger Games), the FMCs parents are both mothers and the youngest sister is asexual. All of this felt just natural, flawless mentioned within the story without delving into too much detail because in this world, this is all natural. of course, there was the occasional mentioning of homophobia, but it's not a main part of a book. It's hard to explain, I guess, but I just liked it the way it was written, because it didn't feel forced.

I read this on my KU, but, naturally, I am going to order my print copy for this now and also pre-order the second one in this series.

5/5 stars
2/5 spice rating
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sydreadslots's review

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  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

This book was like a love child of Bridgerton, Crescent City with a sprinkle of a witchy mystery. And a bit of fun from gossip sites.  It drew me in from the moment I started. The world building and the characters felt unique and well written. When Harlow gets out of an abusive relationship and reunites with her family, she is convinced to join the ‘season’, a series match making events and rituals among shifters, sorcerers, vampires and the elite ruling race of the Illuminated. She is forced to pair off with Finn McKay in the hopes of saving her family’s shop and the sorcerer run section of the city. After suffering heartbreak at his hands years prior, they become reluctant partners as the cracks in their illuminated run society start to show. I’m not normally into second chance romances but the tension and feelings between Harlow and Finn were impossible not to love. The cast of characters in this including both blood and found family really made Dark Night Golden Dawn stand out to me. While the subject matter was distinctly magical and played out in an urban fantasy setting, the trauma and depiction of Harlow’s healing and struggle after an emotionally abusive relationship was incredibly done and despite the hard subject matter was one of my favorite aspects of the book. 
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fran_h's review

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5.0

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serena_andherstories's review

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emotional hopeful 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

4.5

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