Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

4 reviews

styxx's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual harassment

house_of_hannah's review

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

This is a book that I definitely would not have picked up normally. I dislike the cover, and the summary leaves a lot to be desired. However, I've been interested lately in trying out the Urban Fantasy genre as, besides Moon Called, I think I only read one book in this genre this year. Several Booktubers I follow have given this series some major praise, so I figured I'd give it a try and see for myself. In the end I'd rate this a high 3, because I do think it's above average, but a low 4. 

To start off the pace of this story is slower than you would expect. Only a few days pass by in the entire book, but it feels like weeks. I did find it a bit difficult to stay invested in the book, so I did take a break from reading this for a few weeks to read some shorter stories. However, once I hit about the 60% mark of the book I couldn't put it down. 

I do really enjoy the way that the Werewolves and Vampires are portrayed. Or at least for the most part. Their history and way of life is interesting, but the whole, "omg, there's two males in the same space as a woman, they are going to fight over her!!" shtick got old really fast. Essentially every male Mercy encounters wants to "make her theirs", so there's a lot of metaphorical dick swinging as everyone clambers over each other to get to her. 

The mystery itself I found intriguing, and was a clever way to introduce part of the world the story takes place in. This is what I was invested in during the last half of the book, but unfortunately the climax is a little lacking. I found myself thinking, "wait, that's it?" and re-reading a few paragraphs to make sure I understood it right. 

Overall, there is quite a bit of tension, action (the non-sexual kind), lore, and mystery in this novel. I did enjoy it more than I was expecting I would, but it's not without it's flaws. I am unsure if I will continue with the series, but if I do it will be a few months before I pick up the second book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Kidnapping, and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment

nakutski's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gore, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Confinement

pos1t1vel1fe's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Sexism, Blood, Kidnapping, and Grief

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Hate crime, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Misogyny, and Terminal illness