Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

23 reviews

sarahaf712's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, Slavery, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexism, Violence, and War

Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, and Sexual harassment

Content warning: birth; stillbirth

victoriousbookworm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was just as amazing as the first in the series, and does not fall victim to the second book slump. There is adventure and intrigue, deception and betrayal. The setting of medieval Russia both has its positives in the magnificent imagery created by the author and moments that will anger as it hinders Vasya’s ability to show her true strength. The ending was so gratifying and the perfect way to end such a riveting second installment. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Violence

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal cruelty and Sexual harassment

pvbobrien's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Blood, Sexual assault, and Child death

Moderate: Kidnapping, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Slavery, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry

chattie_the_mad_chatter's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? No

5.0

This is a much quicker pace than the first book, the story moves to Moscow, politics in the city. Whilst Vasya is reunited with the siblings she said goodbye to as a child, the folk of fairy tales are trying to stay present as the people in Moscow forget and put Paton gods aside as superstition. Bandits are rife in the villages the Tarta's want their ransom and Vasya refuses to abide by Russian rules and stay hidden in the Tower with the rest of the women. Not whilst she sees animals, people and being who need her.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, Violence, Sexism, and Confinement

grimviolins's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, Misogyny, Child death, Miscarriage, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: War, Vomit, Pedophilia, and Animal cruelty

kassielovestoread's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

I'm having a hard time putting together a worthy review of this book. Truly, it was a fantastic book and doesn't fall at all under the middle book syndrome. There's just so many things that I loved about the first book that the second takes under its wing and expands it. To name a few...

Vasya, first and forever foremost, is a badass -not to be fucked with- MC. Vasya is uniquely herself in a society that would rather see her confined or dead than allow her to live freely, bound to no man or church. Her journey is not one I'd ever forget and could easily re-read in the future. I also really, really love that her "ugliness" does not faze her. Nor can it be used against her to hurt her. It's a testament that while Vasya may not be conventionally attractive to her society's standards, she nevertheless stays a constant topic of conversation and borderline obsession amongst these people. I love that for her! Stay mad!

The twists and turns this plot took! Towards the ending of the book, the anxiety of everything falling apart was nearly going to eat me alive. Several times I had to take breaks and rant to my best friend about the story, LOL. What makes a book a great read for me is when I am so impacted and invested in the story that it feels like my heart will leap out of my chest if all does not end well. 

Finally, I enjoyed the topics of religious hypocrisy and gender norms. I feel like these issues were discussed quite well in The Bear and the Nightingale, but they come to a dramatic apex in The Girl in the Tower. Overall, this book was an extremely entertaining and reflective read. I cannot WAIT to read the final book! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

thoseoldcrows23's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, Confinement, Grief, Pregnancy, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death of parent and Slavery

woolgathering_jane's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

 “Think of me sometimes," he returned. "When the snowdrops have bloomed and the snow has melted.” 

I never thought I could like the 'not like other girls' trope until I started this series. The main character, Vasya, is not like other girls. And it's a major inconvenience for everyone, including herself. Vasya is not very lovable at first, but she has grown on me as her story progressed. She messes up, then messes up again, but she always wants what she thinks is best for her and her loved ones. And of course, her relationship with Morozko is probably my favourite thing about the book. I just love these two so much.
The plot was fine. Nothing life-changing, I guessed who the main villain was the moment they were introduced, but I didn't mind. Stronger qualities of the story would be the beautiful wintery mood and the folklore. The pace was nice, it didn't feel stuck at any point.
But the finale! I read the last hundred pages in one sitting, and it was a wild ride. I was even more worried about the characters because of the prophecy said in the first book. The only thing I didn't like was that some points weren't fully fleshed out, they were just there and you weren't supposed to question how.
Overall, very enjoyable read and perfect for the autumn/winter months. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Death, Sexism, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Rape

sarahsbooklife's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, Child death, Death, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, and Pregnancy

ehmannky's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

The middle book of a trilogy often feels like the weakest, and usually takes me the longest to get through. Not so here. "The Girl in the Tower" picks up right where the first of the Winternight Trilogy leaves off, with Vasya riding towards Morozko and to a life away from the constraints of her small time village life. Then, we shift towards finding out how Olga and Sasha, Vasya's older siblings, are faring in Moscow, with a slow build towards bringing Vasya into the center action. It feels like that would be an off-putting start to a novel, but Arden's meticulous worldbuilding feels so necessary to creating the full story of Vasya and her family. 

Also, I have never hated a character as much as I have hated Konstantin. Every time he is on the page I want to scream. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexism, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Grief, Death, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Trafficking, Slavery, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Body horror, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Vomit and Xenophobia