Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo

12 reviews

milliemudd's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, and Sexism

Minor: Colonisation, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail

ren_the_hobbit's review

adventurous dark 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? Yes

5.0

Nghi Vo has done it again! I love every book in this series. The writing is beautiful and I love how the things you think you know aren’t necessarily true. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Violence

figsofpeach's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Violence

clarabooksit's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Graphic: Gaslighting and Blood

Moderate: Mental illness, Violence, Murder, Confinement, and Death

Minor: Gore

storiesatstarfall's review

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Gore, Sexual assault, and Death

susanatherly's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Body horror, and Mental illness

jalexpulliamkepler's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.75

I will be thinking about this one for a long time! It would be perfect if the climax wasn’t a tad rushed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Death, Confinement, Chronic illness, Blood, Alcohol, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Sexual assault

jayisreading's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

I admit that The Brides of High Hill isn’t my favorite from The Singing Hills Cycle, but I do commend Vo for switching things up by adding a Gothic horror atmosphere to the novella. Furthermore, it’s no longer just Chih telling/collecting stories; they’re actually in the story themself now (though we got a sense of that in the previous novella). As always, Vo brings sharp and beautiful prose to this novella, so there isn’t anything in particular to critique on that front. I think the reason I didn’t feel nearly as invested in this latest installment is perhaps a result of wanting a change of pace in the series in general. You could argue that this book is a change of pace, and I can’t help but wonder if Vo is switching gears, based on the subtle changes in storytelling style in the latest two installments. I guess time will tell, depending on when the next book comes out, which I will still happily read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Blood and Gore

Minor: Sexual violence

thisbookisbananas's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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? No

5.0

I’m so glad I read this book! In all of these novellas, there is an emphasis on the power of stories and how things are not always as they seem.The Brides of High Hill is a slightly more chilling departure from the rest of the series,but it is a welcome experience! This gothic horror-esque story is eerie and haunting. It has cemented Nghi Vo as one of my favorite authors.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Gore, and Physical abuse

ceruleanseas's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-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? No

4.5

Cleric Chih is on a new adventure, this time accompanying a young woman and her family as they travel to her betrothed's estate. When they get there, something seems not-quite-right, but Chih can't quite figure out what. The lord's son is mad, none of the servants will meet their eyes, and there are rumors swirling about the fates of the lord's previous wives. Determined to protect their new friend, Chih starts exploring, but there are more secrets than even they expect. 

This book definitely leans more towards gothic/horror than the rest of the series, and Vo does such an excellent job at worldbuilding that I didn't mind at all. There are twists at the end, some that were obvious and others that were less so, but it's really about the journey, not the destination, right? 

Thanks to Tor Publishing Group for the advanced reader's copy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Confinement, and Murder

Moderate: Blood, Misogyny, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Sexual violence and Grief