Reviews tagging 'Torture'

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

221 reviews

a_acha331's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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

3.75

I was hesitant at first because for 800 pages… What do you have to say that requires all this?? Was it that serious to create an encyclopedia, babes??? 😐

Some scenes were unwarranted and felt like a page filler. Nonetheless, with each page flipped, my anticipation increased. I laughed and cried!!! Hunt…..The betrayal!!!! (I was rooting for you. We were all rooting for you🥹). Nevertheless, everything worked out. He won me back and Imma stick beside him 👁️👄👁️✌🏾

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Blood, Drug use, War, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Suicide attempt, Cursing, Murder, Bullying, Classism, and Grief

fru502's review

adventurous 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

4.75

Don't let the slow start put you off; a significant amount of world building is needed and pays dividends later. Everything you'd expect from an SJM book: twists and turns throughout, a loveable host of side characters, lots of different magical beings with the own lore, a strong as hell FMC. I wasn't sure I'd like the shift to a modern world having just finished ACOSF, but it grew on me quickly!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This was in many ways a book about grief, about losing hope, about feeling alone. I cried a lot and maybe felt a little bit emotionally manipulated (but isn't that why we read?).

But it's also a book whose message (said repeatedly, almost ad nauseum) is one of love conquering all.

And OMG it was so long. But honestly, with the amount of plot points we had to get through, it was warranted. The pace was pretty normal, not too slow.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Slavery, Grief, Medical content, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, War, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Torture, and Vomit

picaresquedreamer's review

adventurous 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Police brutality, Death, Murder, Racism, Classism, Sexual content, Violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Police brutality, Child abuse, War, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Gaslighting, and Genocide

Minor: Domestic abuse and Colonisation

barbarianmissy's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Wow, it took me a long ass time to get into this new series but once I was in it, I was hooked! 

I got a bit grumbly with the lore dump at the beginning but I understand why it had to be done. It was neat seeing a SJM world that was so similar to our own with technology AND fantasy characters. I could also see little strings possibly tying this world to ACOTAR and that made me VERY intrigued about the possibilities of that in the future books! 

It took me a good while to like Bryce, just like it took a while for Hunt to like her too. I too, was quite annoyed with her in the beginning, but as she revealed more about herself I understood why she acted the way they did. 

Their love story was inevitable from the start and I really liked their banter BUT I feel like his utter and complete betrayal of Bryce’s trust near the end was kind of washed over in lieu of more important factors of the story. Like he was forgiven without even a conversation?!?! In my head I was like, “Hold up BB, I’m not done being mad at him yet!” But I guess him being sold into his worst nightmare and almost dying kind of repents him for it 🤷‍♀️ 

I kind of thought Ruhn was a loser at first, but I decided I adore him now and he must be protected at all costs. 

Lehabah is a queen. May she rest in peace. 

I’m excited to see what happens next! 🕺

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical content, Murder, Drug use, Grief, Confinement, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Alcohol, Body horror, Torture, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

stephanieviolet's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Grief, and Violence

Moderate: Vomit, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Trafficking, Mental illness, and Addiction

Minor: Body horror, Gun violence, Colonisation, Mental illness, Drug use, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Medical content, Torture, Medical trauma, Xenophobia, Abandonment, War, Toxic relationship, and Drug abuse

hazelbcap's review

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

I recently finished TOG series (which was a 5 star read for me) and was unsure if I’d like CC because of how modern the setting is. 
TLDR: By the end I LOVE IT. The characters are funny and emotional, the plot is intriguing! 

It did take make about 300 pages to decide I would like it and keep reading. The world building is heavy. There is a lot of adjusting to the politics and history of the world and characters pasts. Overall the main characters are funny, have good chemistry, witty banter, and have many layers making them complicated yet relatable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Blood, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Bullying

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Suicidal thoughts

avialaeleigh's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective 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? No

5.0

Honestly at first I wasn't sure how to feel about this book. Especially with it being fantasy but in a modernish setting with technology and modern weapons, but I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed the story. 

I definitely wasn't expecting a lot of the plot twists and surprise endings. Bryce is one of my favorite female characters in a fantasy novel. She is objectively the epitome of a dumb party girl but she is also a fucking badass and I can't even begin to explain how happy that combination makes me for some reason. 

Also he relationship with Ruhn and Hunt and the sass between them all is just amazing. And the enemies to lovers between Bryce and Hunt is *chefs kiss* one of my favorite tropes. And they do it so well. Plus we have the whole golden retriever black cat relationship as well as two broken people healing each other which is also one of my favorites. 

Also fuck the whole slave thing, that's ridiculous, people shouldn't be able to own other people that are able to make their own decisions and think for themselves. Otherwise I liked that this was different enough from SJMs other series but also similar enough to not be a weird read. Cannot wait to start the next book in the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Blood, Racism, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Body horror, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Sexism, Slavery, Mental illness, and Torture

bee12345's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Classism, Slavery, Violence, War, Death, Medical trauma, Cursing, Physical abuse, Torture, Grief, Murder, Drug use, Gore, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Confinement, and Suicidal thoughts

jackiepreston's review

adventurous dark emotional 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Death, Blood, Drug use, Grief, and Gore

Moderate: War, Torture, and Violence