Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Raven King by Nora Sakavic

66 reviews

nicska's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Self harm, Sexism, and Suicide attempt

books_onthe_ground's review against another edition

dark emotional funny 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

This series, man. This series. There is the notion that the middle book of a trilogy is always the worst or just not as good as the others (see filler books). The Raven King however is just as good as the other 2 in the series. This is 100% down to the amazing structure of the trilogy as well as the killer character development and dialogue. The structure and pacing of this series actually blows me away and is something I always come back to when I’m talking about these things in class, to friends or students, it’s always my go to when people ask for examples. The reveal of information, the plot twists, the build-up to major plot moments, they are all incredibly written and engage the reader so well. 

My only real complaint about the book and this is true for the final book as well, is that every so often there is a kind of recap? So characters get introduced again and we are reminded about events in the previous books, almost like a ‘previously on All for the Game’ as if it was a TV show. This is annoying and does take you out of the book and I found that it breaks some of the tension for me, but yeah that’s the only thing I found that I didn’t like about the writing. 

The characters, again, are incredibly written and the character development is well paced out and believable. These characters have amazing continuity, and you can tell the author had their developments, motivations, personalities etc. etc. all written up and decided as every decision made, every piece of dialogue or one liner, every reaction is exactly how you expect the character to be and there isn’t a single moment where I thought something was out of place for them. It’s incredibly impressive and something I rarely see. 

I have so much love for this series. It’s a heart attack waiting to happen; full of tension that feels like when someone in a horror movie is walking right towards the killer, and you are screaming at the screen for them to not open the door. I could rant about this series for ever and this book is no exception. It’s a difficult read in places and I mean that. Please look up triggers for this book. However, issues are handled with care and taken incredibly seriously, they are never used for just shock or for plot points. These characters have gone through and continue to go through absolute hell, and it stays with them. It's part of who they are, and they react as you would think, and the experiences deeply affect them for the rest of the book. Trauma doesn’t go away and oh my god I’m so thankful for this series for handling issues in such a good way and showing that actions have consequences and people don’t just get over things. So often characters simply get over their trauma or act like it never happens, like it has no effect. The character’s grief and reactions make them some of the most believable characters I’ve read about. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Drug use and Homophobia

booksnbones13's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

why am i so addicted to these books

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Violence

solinel7's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

This was much better than the 1st one. There's only one thing I gotta complain and that is that the author describes everything and that is completely unnecessary. Specially because all these descriptions do not move the story forward. 
I love their development and how much we've gotten to know the characters. We finally learned more of their past history and Neil's real name. It made me cry twice. That end, had me bawling. 

Look up Trigger Warnings if you wanna read it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

illgiveyouahint's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

Listen it's not exactly quality,right? But something about this book series just pulls you in and doesn't let go. It's super fucked up. But somehow even on a reread still enjoyable. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Child abuse, Car accident, Confinement, Death of parent, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Rape, Death, Torture, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Alcohol

astralbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Rape, Sexual violence, Death, Drug use, Gore, Violence, Torture, Addiction, Self harm, Sexual assault, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Child abuse, Hate crime, Murder, Vomit, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Homophobia, Drug abuse, and Outing

Minor: Suicide