Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni

8 reviews

prashiie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

“Our scars define us. They tell a story of courage and survival. They tell of who we are at our deepest being, of the challenges we've faced and overcome. Not all scars are as visible as this. I daresay you have many more on the inside. But never forget that every scar is beautiful. And you should never, ever, be ashamed of them.”

I didn’t expect to finish this book so fast. It was amazing and I will tell you why! Kiva goes to Vallenia with Jaren and Tipp, where she meets the Vallentis family, her sworn enemy. It seems they are not as bad as she’s been told. Despite their own problems, the royal family is inherently a loving family, akin to a normal family. Their acceptance and trust in Kiva are astounding and somewhat unexpected. This complicates her task further and, as expected, Kiva is torn between the two sides. She learns more about both sides and discovers some very interesting things about her own family. Prepare yourself for another set of twists. After reading the first book I was expecting there to be twists and I must say, they lived up to expectations. It seems that even outside of Zalindov’s walls the only person you can trust is yourself. 

This book introduces us to more characters and one of my favourite, aside from Jaren (duh), is definitely Nanna Delora. This lady just wants to be left in peace to enjoy her book club with some scones. That woman is a vibe. I’m sure my fellow readers can also relate! 
Another favourite character of mine is Caldon. This guy has great intuition and there's so much more to him than we think! Queen Ariana also deserves a special mention. She’s a loving mother who cares so much about her children. She gives them a shoulder to cry on and devotes her time to hearing them out. However, she still struggles with her addiction to Angeldust though. It's very mature of Jaren and Mirryn to remember that it's the drug and not the user. It’s one thing to hear Jaren mentioning it, but another to experience it through Kiva’s eyes. That was super scary and heartbreaking.

Overall it was a well-written book, definitely a page turner. I love the way this story is told and how everything is connected. I couldn't stop reading. It was a tense book with some wholesome & hopeful moments but also some really frustrating moments.

In the first book Kiva talks to the Warden about Tipp’s release. He tells her that Tipp could be released to his guardian if they came for him, but at that moment I did not make a connection to Kiva. She too was very young when she came to Zalindov. This angers Jaren as well and he demands to know why Torr left her to rot in Zalindov when they had the opportunity to free her. I don't get why Tilda would rather break her out of the notoriously impenetrable Zalindov when they could also just go get her before she turned 12. That was honestly such a horrible thing to do and I don’t get why Tilda would wish that upon her daughter. And how ironic, or I should rather say diabolical, that Kiva ends up in Zalindov!

I am so excited to read the next, and final, book! Kiva might not have turned on Jaren, but as far as he knows she did lie to him and betray his trust. I wonder if there’s still hope for them…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Violence, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Drug use, and Death

Moderate: Vomit, Child abuse, Confinement, and Death of parent

Minor: Murder and War

christina_chen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad medium-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Rape, Torture, Police brutality, Death of parent, Drug use, Gore, Violence, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Sexual violence, and Slavery

kaylaboevers's review against another edition

adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Drug abuse

Moderate: Physical abuse

Minor: Blood

bluebreex's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Addiction, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Death

lotte5322's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, War, Bullying, Confinement, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, Murder, and Torture

siglerbooknook's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, and Addiction

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Death of parent

grets_reads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

This was a good read (read it in one long binge read immediately after The Prison Healer) and very engaging. It did feel a little rushed at times, particularly when it came to various character developments that led to (actions) and (consequences), though that may have been because I read them back to back on the same day and had a direct comparison to the pacing in the first book.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Abandonment, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

bri1510's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Drug abuse, and Drug use