Reviews with content warning for Blood - War and Queens

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

War and Queens by Jennifer L. Armentrout

57 reviews

zimmerlemon's review against another edition

tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

Idk how I'm still so invested in this series when the recent books have low-key been hard to get through (sooo close to DNFing), but somehow I'm still here. There's some world building that's hard to hold onto (especially combined with the previous book about Sera and Nyktos) and the build up to everything felt like it took forever. I also thought this was going to be the last one and I'm a little disappointed it's not LOL I was ready to be free. I do have a soft spot for the main three characters and I <3 Reaver and Nektas so I guess that + curiosity will keep me around for the next one.

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magical_gnomead's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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 had hoped this was the end of the series, but it seems like the author is trying to hang on and get the most of it. It was overall a good book. A little more sexual than necessary. There were a couple times I would think, "really?! Another?!" but, oh well.

I had a feeling a triangle romance was inevitable. She set it up and hunted at it so many times, but I'm not too sure it was necessary. Maybe she was just trying for something different than most other books. I don't necessarily believe that with how protective Casteel is of Poppy, that he would just roll over when it came to Kieran's attention to Poppy, and vise versa.

There is also a lot unexplained about Tawny. Which I have no doubt will be revealed in another book. Really bummed the series isn't done. I wished for a clean end, but these 5+ book series just really like the attention of having "just one more book" feels. I'll MAYBE read it? My heart is yearning for another, especially with so many great TBRs waiting. Guess we will see.

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sarah_speaks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

3.5

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hapalyn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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roget's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No

1.0

This reads like a crack fic.

This series would be so much stronger if space that was given to all the tone-ignorant quipping and pages of unnecessarily aggressive, uncomfortable exchanges were instead given to expanding the lore.

The real plot is crammed into info-dumps in dialogue—just like, lecture after lecture of some being or another backtracking like “Well, ACTUALLY…” and then re-explaining lore and ancient relationships that’d already been explained and re-explained half a dozen times but apparently incorrectly. The consort? Interesting plot line. I wish we’d have gotten more of that development.

The Malik-Poppy backstory reveal was absolutely undercut by the series’s penchant for throwing gossip girl-style shocking “twists” at us every five minutes, not to mention the tonally inconsistent suggestive and situationally abhorrent illicit comments. The series isn’t respectful to Kieren, either. He’s basically treated like Poppy’s arm candy this book, and Poppy’s character is shockingly undynamic given the many, many changes she’s been through. She’s still acting like the angry, impulsive, and brash kid who’s playing at power without really understanding it.

The pacing is weird.

It takes them over half the book to rescue Cas, then it’s a large chunk of just adult scenes—the most awkward of which occur in the house of a set of resistance people who take them in and offer shelter only to be melted by Isbeth once Poppy and Cas are done using their familial home as a love shack.

As for the content…

There are numerous mature scenes, and if you’re not up for that, you’ll find yourself paging through them frustratedly and wading through neverending passages of violence as you wait for eons for an update about the more integral parts of the plot.

I’m interested to know more about the primals and their clearly warped family tree. I want Poppy to return to Ileesium. I want to see more of those dynamics unfold. I wish the book would spend more time and nuance developing that and Poppy herself.

Kind of just reading to find out what happens and how it wraps up at this point, which is disheartening. I’m sure some people find this series fun or entertaining, but the issues have sort of spoiled it for me, at least.

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lorenmarie7's review against another edition

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adventurous tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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gg1098's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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nicolewhopickedthisbook's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.5

So after reading this long winded book, I must say I don't really get the whole controversy surrounding the poly scene... reviews I've read state that it's out of left field, that JLA is just giving into fan demands and changing the way the characters would normally act to fit this narrative, that Poppy cheated on Cas while he was imprisoned... like, what? For those of you thinking this poly relationship is coming from left field obviously haven't been reading the same series I've been reading. A relationship between the three MCs have been hinted at since like book 2. As for the cheating rants,

Poppy and Kieran never have sex while Cas is imprisoned, she only feeds off Kieran because she has too and they told Cas right away and he was okay with it, in fact, Cas even stated that Kieran is THE ONLY ONE that Cas would be okay with Poppy feeding off of... so if Poppy's literal husband isn't mad at Poppy for feeding off Kieran... why are you?

As for the claims of emotional cheating, I feel like all three of their relationships have been close and intimate. They are always touchy/feely with Poppy, both Cas and Kieran. Again, y'all haven't been reading the same books I have. If you don't like polyamory, then jest say that.

What I will say is that JLA needs to work on her brevity because this book did not need to be this long... honestly, this series doesn't need to be this long. Will I continue reading, yes I will because I'm invested in the characters.

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fireinherveinzz's review against another edition

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dark funny fast-paced

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

3.0

I’m sick of the plot twists at this point , it’s getting really old like poppy would have been enough and worthy just being a mortal and didn’t need all these extra super special super powers or finding our she’s the the chosen one in this prophecy. or oh great she has a long lost sister who she didn’t get to bond or interact with at all after losing her brother . Also the joining scene definitely overhyped to be way more than it actually is . She’s not cheating on or lying to Casteel it’s consentual and healthy communication even when she was feeding from Kiernan which she was forced to do to survive and was extremely reluctant to. She didn’t have sex with him without Casteel there . People really got all up in arms about this for no reason. When really this story had other issues . It just kinda dragged out with some light hearted comedic moments and a lot of violence and torture and scenes of aftermath of mass murder of children etc which JLA seems to be found of . Then the anti climatic moment of her ending her mothers life after all that build up over how scary powerful she was just. I love how this story started in the first couple books now this is getting really dull and not interesting anymore . JLA over relying on plot twist and random reveals that just won’t stop happening to make the story interesting does not in fact make for an interesting story . The only scene I truly loved was Poppy being assertive about deciding she what she would wear to see her abuser her biological mother and not the former white dress she was forced to wear or she would show up naked . That should have been the energy of the death scene or punishing Isbeth some other way it just wasnt that satisfying.
She kept saying she didn’t want to turn into her or become like a god who demolished cities and killed innocents . But acted really selfishly and like a brat at times .
I don’t see how much more this story can get dragged out for .

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jhaneveauguste's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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