Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

61 reviews

karapillar's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pregnancy

_christinadevin'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Rape

scandinavian_queen's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Abortion

allyordyna's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Very well written, extremely fast paced (every chapter was interesting), mature audience

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Abandonment, and Classism

maggieed'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Grief, and Death of parent

isi_lemonx05's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

ainslie's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Great. Only drawbacks are:

• Gratuitous sexual violence against women
• Tired trope of rape being the primary character development tool for the female characters
• Very male gaze-y 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

iwasagiftedkid'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Torture

caregorman's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense 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

4.5

Wait I really enjoyed this so much - just when i thought I was in my fantasy flop era! Very much here for the slow burn enemies to lovers??? Maybe???? Didn’t love some of the fighting scenes but wow 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Abortion

shashureads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? No

5.0

“There are two kinds of guilts,” I say softly. “The kind that’s a burden and the kind that gives you purpose. Let your guilt be your fuel. Let it remind you of who you want to be. Draw a line in your mind. Never cross it again. You have a soul. It’s damaged, but it’s there. Don’t let them take it from you, Elias.”

Wow! I mean Can I Get A Wow?? 

In this dual POV, we meet Laia, a young Scholar girl who lives with her grandparents and only surviving sibling, as her house is being raided, her brother is arrested and she is later enslaved. Meanwhile Elias, a Martial, who is top of his class about to graduate Blackcliff Academy, wrestles with the way things are in society and contemplates leaving it all behind. 

The author wastes no time pulling you into the story. You are drawn to the characters and are rooting for them almost instantaneously. It held no punches as it opens up with some serious brutality and only escalates from there. This book also has one of the worst villains ever who definitely makes you wanna jump into the pages and throw hands but also not really because you know you’d get your ass beat and thrown in a dungeon. 

This book has some of my favourite elements in fantasy. Amazing world building and storytelling, a training academy, a villain I wanna choke out, a budding love triangle. I cannot wait to start the second book and get back into this world as this book ends as another epic journey begins. 

Content warning for how tense it makes you with some of the mental and physical abuse the main characters endure. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Sexual harassment