Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

42 reviews

christinereads1823's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.5

Another excellent book from Bardugo; I couldn't put it down. 
However. There are a number of new plot threads that seemed unnecessary at times, and I am honestly not sure how they will be tied up in a probable-but-not-yet-confirmed Book 3... or if they even can be. There is also more gore;

the continual references and visuals of the mangled dead rabbit

were viscerally uncomfortable for me. 
I enjoyed the theoretical aspects; the themes of good, evil, and what you have to do to survive; and the found family and forging of relationships. Who wouldn't go to hell and back for their friends and loved ones? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Vomit, Death, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, Gun violence, Drug use, Cursing, and Suicide attempt

chronicacademia's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, and Racism

Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, Cannibalism, Medical content, Stalking, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

ashlightgrayson's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This installment gave us a much more thorough exploration of the side characters in the story. I did miss Darlington being explicitly present throughout the story, but I feel like Bardugo made up for it with how interesting everyone else was. I appreciated that we got more one on one interactions between Dawes and Alex. Both of them are connected by how much they care for Darlington and their association with Lethe. However, as the story progresses, it is clear that both of them have more in common about their past than meets the eye. They also form a more solid trusting friendship as they go through the ups and downs of the plot. This sequel leaned in more to the horror aspects of the world. There are moments that delve into the dark history of Lethe and how magic has been used in the past for less than honorable goals. I found the plot points to be creative, but still neatly interwined. I'm looking forward to seeing how some of the seeds planted in this installment become relevant in the next part of the story. I think the first book is still my favorite between the two of them. However, I think this was still a solid sequel and I'm looking forward to see what comes next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, and Murder

Moderate: Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Self harm, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Cursing, and Pedophilia

cfoley's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Violence, Sexism, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Suicide attempt, Murder, Police brutality, Sexual content, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Drug use, Drug abuse, Self harm, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, and Grief

Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Animal death, Sexual assault, Alcohol, and Abandonment

molly_storm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

I put off listening to Hell Bent for ages after getting it on Audible, because I figured I would really need to focus on it - the time skips in Ninth House had really baffled me at first but by the end everything made sense so I figured this one would be the same. 

I was definitely not disappointed in the plot! Three nights in a row, I stayed up past 4am listening to this audiobook after going to bed. It flows beautifully - I know a lot of people have said that it’s too fast or feels rushed but I disagree wholeheartedly. 

I’m excited for the story to continue in the 3rd one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Death, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Blood, Police brutality, Addiction, Death of parent, and Self harm

Minor: Vomit, Police brutality, Torture, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Cannibalism, Excrement, Drug abuse, Medical content, Drug use, Mental illness, Confinement, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual assault

By and large, the above triggers I feel are present are handled appropriately and are not there for gratuitous reasons.

sdeer's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual harassment and Drug use

antimony27's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Physical abuse

suchsweetsorrow89's review

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

3.5 really, but I thought the book was fun so it gets bumped a star. overall, compared to her last, I think this one is slightly better in the sense that I felt there were fewer random/unnecessary moments than in the first book (especially in moments that deal with heavy gender-based cases of abuse and assault). however, one of the negatives is the pacing of the book. I often found that the descriptions were a bit heavy at times and I felt that there was not as much connection and genuine interactions with the characters as there was in the first book, so the chemistry, while not feeling forced, just fell flat. 

there are some specific things within this that I will spoil below, but all in all, I think this is a really fun read when you're looking to pass the time. in addition, I think the serious moments and reflections in this book are really stunning and you can tell how much leigh as evolved as a writer, philosopher, and world-builder.

- I would have liked to see more of dawes' backstory! while alex's story is special, it's also the story we have heard before. I thought one of the strongest aspects of ninth house was darlington's story, and I would have loved something similar for dawes, especially since she plays a more prominent role.

- on that note on darlington, I wish there were more of him. while I understand that's the 'point', I thought he fell way flatter than usual in his own thoughts and in his interactions with everyone after being rescued. it really did feel like he took more of a secondary/unnecessary role after his rescue, and it left me feeling uncomfortable in the wrong way (almost like it was defamation to all that his character was built up to be in the first book). I'm also not really buying that he would just surrender to alex, to his role, and to lethe as easily as he did.

- the twist was... just fine. maybe it's because I'm older, but I thought that this twist was a bit more expected than the first and just was not a page-turner in the way the other was.

- unfortunately, the ending did not make me really excited for the third book, since this new plotline just felt like a weird grab all while the one for the first book just made more sense? idk idk

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Torture, Child death, Blood, Gore, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Vomit, and Police brutality

Minor: Animal cruelty, Police brutality, Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, and Panic attacks/disorders

blissofalife's review

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.75

As convoluted and detailed as the first! It all comes back around, and every little thing tied in. And I mostly followed all of it. Great character building and witty writing. Can’t wait for the next!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Drug use, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Stalking

carolynkwolff's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Animal death, Drug use, Gore, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Death of parent, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Rape, Animal cruelty, and Slavery

Minor: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Vomit