Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

99 reviews

miraileah's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

4.25? I can see this remaining my favorite book in this series. I loved the new characters we met, and the new dimensions of the originals. I thought the political stuff was fun, and the relationship(s?) were all very interesting. I really liked Aelin’s internal world in this and the last book, she’s obviously learning a lot and doing her best to manage all of her new responsibilities as a /19 year old/ (holy hell they’re all so baby). Particularly the section where she initially comes home and deals with Arobynn again. He’s such a scumbag, but he meant a lot to her. I thought Aelin’s hesitance surrounding Arobynn made a lot of sense, and was written well. 

I think SJM loves writing stories about overcoming trauma, and I think she does a really good job of it! She thrives writing angst, and I was definitely on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened next during much of this book. I’m most curious to see where Elide’s story takes her, as well as Nesryn. Both of them have been through a lot, but I think they’ll really shine in the coming books. I also love Manon and Lysandra, through the whole cast of characters has had moments where they’ve shined. Looking forward to the tandem read of EOS and TOD!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Death, Gore, Grief, and Blood

Moderate: Vomit, Miscarriage, and Slavery

abbyreads23's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

5.0

I think to give Queen of Shadows anything less than 5 stars would be a cardinal sin. Maybe that’s dramatic, I don’t care. The development of the overall story and characters is incredibly gripping, I don’t know how many time I was physically tensed up or tearing up over something I was reading. It’s touching, it’s hopeful, it’s also dark, sad, and makes you wonder how Aelin and her court are going to make it out of the mess. Let’s take a moment and appreciate Manon’s character development and the introduction of Elide, which I am very eager to see what their stories hold in the next few books. 
I have read TOG in the “Romantic” way. 
Going onto Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn as a tandem read. 
I do believe, so far, that Queen of Shadows has been my favorite book though. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: War, Gore, and Death

Minor: Miscarriage, Torture, Slavery, Vomit, and Sexual assault

undecidedpersonality's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Medical content, War, Confinement, Slavery, Abandonment, Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Ableism, Pregnancy, Genocide, and Sexual violence

Minor: Classism, Sexual content, Child death, Colonisation, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Child abuse

dontwritedown'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I... wow.....how does Maas keep doing this?

I was sorely tempted to DNF the whole series with Heir of Fire, giving it my lowest rating, and here I am giving five stars to the very next book in the series.

I'm not gonna lie, this one hit me hard in the feelings. When Aelin goes to graveyard to visit Sam, my Storygraph reported "dis bitch got me."

That being said, anyone else pick up on Maas's story heist plot secrets? I'll give you a hint: if she doesn't give you a single detail in the planning stages, the plan goes perfectly as the conspirators plan it to be. If she gives away some detail or the entire plan, it will go awry. Note that not a single detail was given about

Aedion's rescue

but a lot of detail of the

destruction of the clock tower

was given and note which ones worked and which ones utterly failed. It's a good technique that keeps the reader from reading the same thing over and over again and getting bored. 

The ending of this book was just *chef's kiss*. I was just reading and didn't realize how far I was and just was like.....ok might as well finish it today.

Also that plottwist with Lysandra?!? I thought I'd hate her but omg she is one of my favorite characters second to Aedion.

Now I'm gonna duo read Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn, because even if I don't dislike Chaol as much as some people in the fandom, I have grown very attached to Aelin and this seems to be the fastest way to get back to her story and not nearly DNF the whole series.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, and Murder

toastyghosty13's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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

4.0

this was a lot better than the previous books of the series, and is by far my favorite so far. it was definitely slow in some parts but it was great getting so many POV’s and i can’t wait to see more. 

there was a lot of closure for some characters and storylines that also added to the adventure of the story. we also learned about the background of other characters that was always a twist and brought more suspense. 

a lot of characters had periods of growth where they were more than what they originally started as within the series, and made them really enjoyable characters. very much excited for the rest of the adventure. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Vomit, and Medical trauma

Minor: Miscarriage, War, and Drug use

aileron's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Confinement, and Gore

Moderate: Body horror, Grief, and Vomit

Minor: Death of parent, Miscarriage, Colonisation, Genocide, Slavery, and Ableism

aggrano's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Cursing, Physical abuse, Vomit, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, and Slavery

imds's review against another edition

• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Medical trauma, Murder, Trafficking, War, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Blood, Gore, Grief, Self harm, Slavery, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Rape, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Ableism, Death of parent, Death, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Vomit

skillyillian's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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

5.0

There's vague-ish spoilers in here throughout but no huge plot points so I'm not gonna worry about tagging them, I'm sorry 🙏🏻

I loved every minute of this book. I read the assassin's blade before this bc I heard it had a really high emotional impact and holy shit, it was perfect. Having TAB freshly on my mind made so much of this book more intense. I loved heir of fire but I actually think this one beat it. Literally my only two not-wildly-in-love thoughts were that it almost felt like too many POVs with the introduction of Elide, but even then 🤷🏻‍♀️ I really liked elide. My other thought was that aedion got real weird about aelin for a minute despite the fact that they're obviously not love interests and never could be. I understand he missed her and blah blah blah whatever but oh my god all the stuff about her scent and her body and everything was real weird for a cousin, I'm just saying 🤨 now rowan's thoughts about aelin's scent and body, on the other hand, well... heh 😌 more please 😌 bc seriously good hell no more teasing, I just can't take it 😮‍💨

Even chaol pissbaby westfall had some redemption towards the end. I didn't think I'd care if he got redemption, he's my tog tamlin at this point, buuuut he did do something useful so I guess I could allow it. 

Seeing aelin do all the cool shit she did tho? That was just. Truly the best. The very best. She and her court have my endless love and respect and adoration. Queen of terrasen, queen of my heart. Mwah. Incredible. I fuckin loved this book. Peak SJM to say the least. The plot twist towards the end had me literally gasping out loud. Now, is that maybe bc I'm a little dumb and didn't see it coming? Possibly. Do I care? No. 💅🏻 

Excellent book, can't wait for the rest 😌

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Confinement, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Vomit

bibliorama's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

3.5

Enjoyment - 4
Start - 4
Characters - 3.5
Atmosphere - 3.5
Plot - 3
Ending - 3.5
Style - 2.5 
The writing in this one was a bit more cheesy than the last ones at the "big" moments, but it's fine. This feels a bit like a fantasy soap opera and I'm okay with that.

Overall - 3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Miscarriage, Blood, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Vomit

Minor: Ableism, Sexual harassment, and Slavery