Reviews tagging 'Murder'

La Musa de Las Pesadillas by Laini Taylor

29 reviews

lizzie24601's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful 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? Yes

3.5

A well-done second half of the duology, though not as good as Strange the Dreamer imo. That's mostly bc Lazlo had such an interesting arch and growth in the first book, and in this book he's mostly just spending his time being Sarai's bf and Sarai doesn't really more of an arch than she does in the first book. SOOO much of the Lazlo/Sarai romance scenes could've been cut.

Nevertheless, there is some great character growth here, too - mostly for Minya and Thyon. The new characters were interesting and helped broaden the world. There's a little less adventure and mystery in this book, but Laini Taylor's writing is so good that you're still devouring each page, and it is quite a satisfying ending. (Obsessed with

Thyon's growth (I was so excited for him to reunite with Lazlo afterward) and with Sarai deciding to become a therapist at the end. Love that for her.

)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Torture, Child abuse, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Slavery

anneroza's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Grief, Rape, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Death, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Xenophobia, Slavery, Death of parent, Confinement, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Blood, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Kidnapping

doodeedoda's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Pregnancy, Violence, Death, Confinement, Grief, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Child death, Mental illness, Trafficking, and Child abuse

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Blood, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Self harm

forgettingtofly's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad slow-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I’m mourning that this duology had to end, but so grateful I got to read it.  I can’t quite express it yet, but this book was deeply moving and so good.  Well-written, achingly sad, wonderfully hopeful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Death

Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Suicide, Child death, and Rape

lis98's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? Yes

3.75

I have mixed feelings about this one. Overall it was an excellent book. 

Pros: 
The exploration of past trauma and how it affects us in the present is done masterfully. Especially concerning the circle of revenge and violence Laini Taylor handled the topic in a way I’ve never seen before. This book is a truly unique piece of art. 
The characters felt so real and believable.  Except for Skathis there’s no real evil people in this book. Every person has such rich emotions and motivations that you can’t help but feel for them even when they do the most horrendous things. Which gives the book quite a sad undertone throughout the whole story, I suppose. 
Contrary to the opinions I’ve seen on the internet so far I really enjoyed Nova’s story line a lot, especially in the beginning of the book.

As tragic as it was, I felt the completion of her story with her committing suicide quite fitting since it was hinted at from the start.

Cons: 
This time around, since the general tone of the book was heavier than the last I sometimes felt as if the poetic writing was kinda out of place. At times it would also feel a bit corny. 
I personally didn’t like the turn the plot took. The expansion of the scale of the story felt too grand for me, I didn’t like the idea of the different worlds. 
The pacing in the beginning was extremely slow. I think that some of the scenes we spent with Sarai and Lazlo could have been cut as much (as I adore the two together) while we could have spent a little more time in the end which felt a bit rushed at times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexual assault, Murder, and Child death

nytephoenyx's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

 As with Stranger the Dreamer, I was enamored with Laini Taylor's writing, which blossoms like orchids on the page. The story is good - there are a lot of exciting elements and complex characters - but Laini Taylor's writing steals the show. She may be a bit flowery for most, but she steals my heart and weaves gossamer threads through it, and I am in love.

There were a few things that were too easy, especially redemption arcs and resource acquisition, but I'm willing to forgive all of it. However, I lament that Muse of Nightmares felt like a middle book, and I'm crestfallen at the lack of continuing adventures.

Altogether well-worth reading and a breath of beauty and joy in this otherwise dismal universe. An easy five-star because Laini Taylor has a gift for weaving magic in her worlds and creating characters of all shapes and sorts that the reader can't help but love. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Death of parent, Torture, Child abuse, Rape, and Trafficking

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, and War

chantellimus's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Violence, and Child death

Moderate: Suicide, Abandonment, War, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Emotional abuse, Violence, Slavery, Sexual assault, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Kidnapping

Minor: Racism, Lesbophobia, Self harm, and Sexism

bethy_joy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gaslighting, Racism, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death, Blood, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Trafficking, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Abandonment, Death of parent, Murder, and Bullying

Minor: Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Suicide, Confinement, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy

msradiosilence's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

3.0

Tldr; Minya gets a story, but so do other characters that were entirely unneeded. For an almost 600 page book, it was pretty boring.

Read my full review here: https://www.rainyreader.com/single-post/muse-of-nightmares.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Blood, Murder, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, and Violence

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

*dreamy, wonder-filled sigh* this book is a gift; one of depraved darkness, oppression, hatred, but also of love and imagination and redemption and a world - worlds - of possibilities if we hope for it.

still have never read anything so wondrously, boundlessly imaginative, and the eretz easter eggs are a bonus too. muse is a languid yet tension-filled story, but its plot still contains surprises. the writing is absolutely exquisite; laini can make you ache, amazed, or devastated with just a phrase or even a single word. despite having already read this once before, i was still riveted.

i wish every single person read this book; god(s) knows the world would be so much better for it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content, Child death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Grief, Domestic abuse, and Death

Minor: Sexual assault, Death of parent, Kidnapping, War, Suicide, Sexual violence, and Slavery