Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen

6 reviews

lateromantic's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

2.0

 

This was an interesting metaphor, but badly executed: the setting was shoehorned in (and, as a romanticist, I do not appreciate the Hoffmann or Dumas erasure), the characters and their actions boring, the references to the real world jarring and eye-rolling. Every time I started to get into it something would bounce me out of it. I wasn't a fan of the prose, I found the turn of phrase clunky, and the structure was strange - was it going for thriller? Why did it run on so long? Also, it was 'edgy', which I find incredibly boring. 

 

Not without merit, just not my kind of thing - perhaps if you want more 'dark faerie' content after reading ACOTAR, or want a book that has vibes of the first Wonder Woman film, you'll like it, but I found both of those put together by a better craftsperson than this. 

 

(Sorry, I don't like to write mean reviews, but I have nothing nice to say about this beyond 'nice idea' and that I will inevitably read another Nutcracker book next Christmas.)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Classism, Confinement, Abortion, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Torture, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Drug abuse, Sexism, and Toxic friendship

mdal26's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Child abuse

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Murder, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Mental illness, Dysphoria, Grief, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Body shaming, Classism, and Torture

kelseyr713's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.0

I had high expectations for this because I love what I’ve read by the author before, but it gets repetitive and many questions aren’t ever answered. Great atmosphere though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Child death, Alcoholism, Violence, Misogyny, Body horror, Alcohol, Classism, Drug use, and Child abuse

Moderate: Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Stalking

Minor: War, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Sexual content

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

An intriguing and compelling story built from the world of The Nutcracker yet vastly different from the story told in that ballet. This wasn’t what I expected but I still found myself enjoying parts of the story. My biggest issue with the story is the writing style made it less accessible than other books I tend to read. It read like a classic novel and I had to look up several words in order to understand certain passages. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture, Toxic friendship, War, Toxic relationship, Murder, Classism, Confinement, Infertility, Miscarriage, Stalking, Child death, Grief, Addiction, Abandonment, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Sexism

devynreadsnovels's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Misogyny, Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexism, Violence, Murder, Classism, Confinement, Child abuse, Blood, Death, Gore, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Abandonment, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Incest, Alcoholism, and Slavery