Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Song of the Forever Rains by E.J. Mellow

5 reviews

jennaniho's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad 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? No

4.0

The biggest takeaway I had from this story was the dynamic perspective offered through the eyes of both Darius and Larkyra, while still keeping the latter as the main focus. Most importantly, E.J. Mellow's narrative beautifully captures the weight of their concealed emotions and makes them remarkably relatable, underscoring the profound lesson that, we can often be our own adversaries or we can decide to be our own saviors. Likewise, the world building is not too specific but not too vague; just right to keep your imagination going and still retain a bit of mystery of "what will come next".

Yet, the biggest focus "Song of Forever Rains" has is towards the lesson that our voice is our biggest weapon and ally; revealing that mastering when and how to use it empowers us to be not only assertive and potent but ultimately, happy and capable of facing even the hardest of challenges.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Torture, and Blood

Moderate: Self harm, Addiction, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Violence

Minor: Abandonment

ender24's review

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

A entertaining and wonderful book. I’ve fallen in love with the world and it’s characters, and I can’t wait to read the next two books. I was not expecting the romance, but I feel like it did not impede the story in any way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Drug use, Death, Domestic abuse, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, and Self harm

Minor: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

tpasta's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse

Minor: Death of parent

allisonwonderlandreads's review

adventurous dark hopeful 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

2.0

In this fantasy romance, the world-building is superficial, and the story is light. The three daughters of the Thief King wield powerful, sometimes deadly, musical magic. The youngest, Larkyra, has a powerful voice. She must constantly control her magic lest any strong emotion come through in speech or song to hurt others. The sisters go on missions for their father, partially to protect his interests and also for some do-gooder reasons (think Charlie's Angels). Larkyra embarks on her first solo mission to discover how a potent magical drug is being smuggled out of the Thief Kingdom.

So what did I like? There's a magical being who contains both a brother and sister. They converse internally and have a gender-fluid exterior to reflect who is in the lead at that time. I loved the way this character played with gender. I liked the spin on fantasy/paranormal romance tropes that here we have a woman who is dangerous and powerful and an essentially clueless man who needs her help. And usually, we would expect the reverse to be true. I was also a major fan of the fashion. When Lark was appalled at herself for not packing clothes to properly suit the ambiance of her destination, I knew she was my kind of person. Finally, the sisterly banter is A+. They can't stop, won't stop no matter who else is around.

Unfortunately, my issues with the book ran deeper. At the very start, Larkyra undergoes a family tradition of giving up her magic and aristocratic privilege for a month leading up to her nineteenth birthday. My problem here is how performative it is. Yes, it's probably good that the three sisters don't just live in a curated bubble, but what does throwing them into the slums accomplish on behalf of other people, really? They still know it will be over in a month and that they'll have access to food, medicine, and a roof over their heads then. Lark even admits that she thinks her father would have saved her if she got in enough danger. Which, good. But also that makes the whole experience very surface-level. And at the end, Lark is meant to have learned powerful life lessons but isn't expected to put them to use in a way that would help balance the scales. I suppose she gets to pocket her newfound street smarts and pat herself on the back for now understanding that the scales even exist. While it was a relief to avoid toxic masculinity on a pedestal in this book, there is still an uncomfy vibe of high-handed paternalism from our aristocratic characters. The lower classes are meant to receive charity and benevolent leadership, passive while their betters volley power plays at one another. Also, I was frustrated that in trying to give that veneer of edginess, torture is presented as a sometimes appropriate means to an end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Murder, Sexual harassment, Torture, and Terminal illness

thereadinghammock's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.25

I love, love, loved the Bassette sisters and their supportive, and authentic sibling dynamic. Petty squabbles among themselves never once undermined the support, love, and trust they all have in each other. I actually used the notes feature on my Kindle for the first time pretty much ever and marked my theories and predictions (pretty much all of which turned out to be wrong, but that was entirely expected) because I was so enthralled by this book and needed to have those notes forever because reasons. While I don't mind the slow burn of Larkyra and Darius' romance, I would have liked a bit more of a stolen/secret romance between them, rather than just the last few chapters. As much as it played like a "will they/won't they" when we all knew they would, I wanted to see so much more between them!

Though I did love that their first time together was literally the night before her engagement ball to his trash-human stepfather. It felt like the most wonderfully poetic "fuck you" to him I could imagine and it pleased me greatly.

The world of Aadlior is fascinating and I can't wait to dive back in with book 2 this fall as we follow Niya's story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Self harm, Torture, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse

Despite the pretty extensive explicit warnings, they were handled in such a way that as a reader, I did not feel truly uncomfortable while reading; however, it is important to know that gaslighting abuse from step-parent to child is a prominent theme through the book. While resolved by the end, and the character themself feeling vindicated, it's an important, but heavy plot line.