Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

5 reviews

attackrat's review against another edition

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

this book was very pleasant in some parts, and annoying in others. i was absolutely obsessed in the first 1/3, the writing is whimsical and reminiscent of folk fantasy stories, and the story at that point was full of magic and crisp winter clarity. it’s described as a folk fantasy and for parts it is. but the entire middle section is like, mixed historical fiction and horror, with needless conflicts that don’t boil down to much in the grand story. and most of what counts as a conflict is just “but you’re a woman!” I just feel like there was so much opportunity to go wider with the side-narratives, the author did a phenomenal job of incorporating real Slavic Pagan figures and practices into it but they fell flat after a while. not only that but so many characters didn’t really have reasonable motivation to act the ways they did, and they often acted against previously established traits. like Vasya’s father was repeatedly called a good man, but he beat his children and repeatedly slept with an unwilling woman. it grew tiresome. I was just disappointed, this story started off so magical and I guess just didn’t know what to do with itself. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Sexual assault, and Misogyny

eerielux's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Physical abuse, Abandonment, Blood, Grief, Pedophilia, Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Violence

stllyltc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

I didn't know what I was getting through but it gave that serial kind of narrative which reminds me of Game of Thrones and The Witcher due to diverse characters pulling through in scenes that evolve throughout. I got confused for the most part of the terminology and world-building as it's Russian folklore and the fictional characters are unfamiliar to imagine, yet you can get used to it. Death was the common denominator here. Way too many deaths occurred as the flow of the novel isn't at the precipice yet. It seems there's more to see of the heroine as half of the book introduced the genealogy of her family and other characters involved. For some reason, I am looking forward to the next installment. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Blood, and Child death

reddeddy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Death of parent, Violence, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny

Moderate: Abandonment, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual content, Child abuse, Gore, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Blood, and Animal death

Minor: Body horror, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Body shaming

jennybear86's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.25

This is very fairytale and mythology based. It can be a little more difficult to follow at times but it paints a very pretty picture 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment and Schizophrenia/Psychosis