Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik

11 reviews

searchandrescueteam's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

This is the final of the Scholomance trilogy and I read it in about two days (I was on leave!).  I think if you have read the previous two books - your understanding of the Scholomance world is deeper, but it’s not essential to reading this book.  Understanding the extremes of the Scholomance world certainly helps understanding of the characters’ motivations, actions and frustrations.
Again, the author works with the complexities of friendships, alliances, cliques, conspiracies.  Another layer is added - as she walks through power (its use and abuse) and hierarchies.  The impact of a single person, with and without the support of others (a few and many) gives the reader much to reflect on.
It’s not a gentle book, not a walk-in-the-park.  But I was glad to read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and War

dejanira's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

4.75

This book feels like putting together the missing pieces into a puzzle; it's a satisfying ending to a masterfully written series.
I have only one controversial take that cost the book the 0.25 star:

I decided that Orion Lake needed to die.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Abortion, and Injury/Injury detail

katy_bee's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad 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

I've raced through this series, rather like a mawmouth. I've seen in other reviews that there are issues with the writing style- lots of telling rather than showing- and I agreed. The chosen one trope is very much present so if that's not your thing, beware. But I just really enjoyed them. I got swept up in the world and El's journey. The first half was definitely more page turning. Things slowed a little in the middle but I wanted to see what happened to the characters and have the mystery of the enclave attacks solved and it all came together very satisfyingly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: War and Injury/Injury detail

danicakvcs's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and War

Moderate: Child death and Murder

Minor: Blood and Kidnapping

bchallis's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body horror, Child death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, and Death of parent

allyareads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Classism

elliehoney's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Physical abuse

ashlikes's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-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: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Torture, Violence, Grief, and War

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Confinement, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

ehparrish's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death

amphipodgirl's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-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

5.0

This is a wonderful, fitting end to the series, full of reveals that make you want to go back and reread the previous volumes to see where/whether the groundwork was laid. I've started re-listening to volume 1 and I am certain that Novik had this all planned out meticulously from the get-go. There was one half-chapter in here that I found irritatingly wandery and vague, but I loved everything else about it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Physical abuse, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail

A secondary character is threatened with severe crushing, of a sort that would not be survivable without magic. She is rescued, but not until she has suffered severe injury. This is done with the knowledge and consent of people who should have a duty of care towards her. Also, we find out where maw-mouths come from and it is absolutely gruesome.