Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace

4 reviews

darwin's review

adventurous emotional tense medium-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

4.5

Goddamn, this book was good. Slow start picks up halfway through and doesn't stop running.  I found this book exceptionally hard to put down once it started rolling. 

While reading, there were times when I found the world-building a little messy, but it all came together very well in the end. Turns out the inconsistency was the point!

The characters and their relationships, though, are where this book shines. The plot is engaging, absolutely, but the characters propelling it forward are what made it so hard to put down. The story matters because the people in it matter, an approach the book itself is well aware of and even leans into at times. 

My final thought is that even though this book can be read as a stand-alone, I think it's much stronger for being a prequel to Archivist Wasp and Latchkey. It was so satisfying to watch all the pieces click together and get another angle at 06 and 22. If 22 was your favorite part of this book and you haven't yet, do yourself a favor and read Archivist Wasp.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, Classism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, War, Violence, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Police brutality

Minor: Alcohol and Suicidal thoughts

theintrovertsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Domestic abuse, Murder, Alcohol, Terminal illness, Slavery, Police brutality, Death of parent, Cursing, Child abuse, Blood, Abandonment, Vomit, Torture, Kidnapping, War, Violence, Suicide, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Mass/school shootings, Child death, Body horror, Gun violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Confinement

Minor: Car accident

rebyreadsandwrites's review

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, War, Alcohol, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Blood, Kidnapping, Cursing, Body horror, Death of parent, and Confinement

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical content, and Murder

Minor: Excrement and Torture

starccato's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Body horror, Child abuse, Murder, Death, Gore, Grief, Police brutality, Violence, War, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Torture

Moderate: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and Medical trauma