Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Queen Bee by Amalie Howard

5 reviews

caitlinemccann's review

funny lighthearted mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, Classism, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Body shaming

Minor: Chronic illness

kemikemi's review

emotional funny reflective 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

I LOVED THIS!!!! I LOVED IT SO MUCH, PERHAPS LOVE DOES EXIST!!!!! the whole thing was so fucking swoony oh my godd even with the revenge plot at center stage, i was blushing literally at any point that ela/lyra and keston were in the same scene together. i thoroughly enjoyed the flashing back and forth between past and present so that ela’s tragedy and consequent spiraling into present was slowly revealed to us; getting bits and pieces as we got further in made me more invested and made her as a character as well as her relationships with the other characters so much more interesting! “i have a secret”/deception trope stories usually play the same plot beats, so there was not much new there, but i didnt mind it in this story because i just had so much fun in this world with the characters and the ending resolution was so satisfactory to me. i loved ela and her character growth journey and her relationship with church, i loved rosalin and zia and sally and j and q, i loved keston, and i loved how hateable poppy was.  

i especially loved how the story also took the like ‘bridgerton show approach’ to artistic casting freedom, where majority of the cast was people of color (mostly mixed, bc titling inheritance) and there were a few lgbt characters too and no one rly batted an eye because none of it had anything to do with the actual plot of the story; it was so wonderful and the south asian cultural references made me so happy to see it was all beautiful and i wish there were more regency romances like this!

only reason this book doesnt have 5 stars is because ive never rated anything 5 stars before, but if it stands the test of time in my heart then i will definitely eventually bump it up that final 0.25. cheers!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Death of parent and Drug abuse

jamie_cruz's review

lighthearted reflective

• 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 a cute story with BIPOC characters. I had a need to read a regency book because I’m missing Bridgerton a little too much right now. Lyra is wanting revenge from something her ex best friend did to her in the past. She wants to hurt the guy she used to like as well, and as you watch Lyra go down her checklist, you’ll see her grow as well. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Drug abuse, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, and Abandonment

I guess it’s kind of a spoiler. The only reason it lost a star for me is from the way she had to go after Keston when I feel like he didn’t truly own up to his mistake which he repeated AGAIN. He does own up to it, but I mean shouldn’t he go to her first after she already owned up to her mistake? I didn’t like that scene that much, and I was hoping HE would take matters in to his own hands instead of the women saying “well he is a guy”. Men are capable, but it’s if they choose to be on their own merit that matters.

mamacita88's review

adventurous emotional mysterious sad medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Gaslighting, Classism, Death of parent, and Body shaming

Minor: Drug abuse

jilljemmett's review

fast-paced

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

5.0

When she was fifteen-years-old, Lady Ela Davis’s life was ruined when her best friend, Poppy, spread a rumour about her. Ela’s father sent her away to a school, away from her friends and the boy she liked: Keston, Duke Ridley. Three years later, Ela returns to high society as the heiress Lyra Whitley. Her plan is to get revenge on Poppy by separating Poppy from her friends and removing her from her place at the top of society, while potentially claiming Duke Ridley for herself. 

Queen Bee is Bridgerton meets The Count of Monte Cristo. I loved the revenge plot. Ela was wrongfully accused of something, which led to her being removed from high society. It always bothers me to see people wrongfully accused of something when you know they didn’t do it. Though this revenge plot could be perceived as bullying, with the way that Ela manipulated things to pin on Poppy, I think Poppy deserved it in the way she was constantly trying to tear other people down to raise her status in society. 

Queen Bee is a fun story of vengeance. 

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for providing a copy of this book!

Content warnings: death of parent, addiction, bullying, drug addiction

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Addiction, Bullying, and Drug abuse