Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

3 reviews

tiana_king's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Classism, and Racism

Moderate: Death and Misogyny

Minor: Drug use, War, and Rape

marareading's review

adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

3.0

I read this book because one of my dear friends adores it. That is enough for me. It is a YA fantasy. The magic system isn't my favorite and I was definitely chastising some of the characters as they went through this story, but by the end I was DYING to know what happened next. 

The sorry follows Raisa, Princess of the Fells and Han, a (former) street theif. Han has recently come into possession of a mysterious magic amulet that no one seems to know the history of. Raisa is dealing with a political upheaval that may or may not include multiple members of the court. Neither know how their worlds intertwine, and are trying to solve the mysteries surrounding them. 

I definitely recommend for a slow burn, hidden magic, political intrigue story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Sexism

bargainghost's review

medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body shaming, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Racism, Domestic abuse, Sexism, and Ableism

While there isn't explicit bodyshaming or judgement of larger character, the protagonist Raisa is repeatedly described as being very thin and petite which might be triggering for some. She can also be very judgmental of others, especially when it comes to women she thinks are sexually active. Other than that, the book handles its more serious themes well, I think. There is one toxic relationship that escalates to the point where

one character gets magically roofied, basically.

That's not fun but is handled seriously. There's also explicit and suggested police brutality by law enforcement (mostly described as beatings and arrests) as well as racism towards some of the other races of the world. In terms of ableism, the book portrays one wheelchair-bound character as being somewhat villainous while another, blind character is friendly and kind but suffers from alcoholism.