Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

18 reviews

foxwish's review against another edition

Protagonist is boring, clumsy and a special snowflake. The man who is clearly going to be her romantic interest is verbally abusive, literally calling her "mentally deficient" and victim blames her. It's disgusting.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexual harassment

velvetsilk42's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Emotional abuse and War

Minor: Sexual violence

scarbery's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? No

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Emotional abuse and Sexism

the_bees_books's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

3.25

If you like creepy forests, grumpy wizards, and female characters who are just a general hot mess, then you should totally read this. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Sexism, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Animal death

Minor: Death of parent, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

walkie_check's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Grief, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, War, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Xenophobia, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Minor: Infidelity, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Alcohol, Cancer, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, and Rape

kbkbkbkbkb's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

If the creepy romance between the main character and her captor didn't exist this would have been a solid 5. The story is really captivating, but the rediculous and creepy age gap and how quickly it's accepted (as well as how blatantly abusive the dragon is) is disgusting and takes so much away from the book. It would have been incredible if it stayed entirely a mentor-mentee relationship.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Emotional abuse

orchidlilly's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

Overall, subpar. The magic and world building are far more interesting than any of the characters could ever dream of being, which is a shame because we don't get to see much of it. The premise was interesting, the plot was an actual plot, but it could have been fleshed out so much better if it only had a bit more time. The ending was a semi-refreshing subversion of the expected romance ending, but it felt a bit rushed. The romance part itself was, in my opinion, wholly unnecessary and a bit unpleasant. The main romantic interest is an immortal while our mc is... 17-ish. Not to mention the attempted rape scene.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Bullying, Fatphobia, Gore, and War

Moderate: Mental illness, Death, Sexual harassment, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Animal death, and Confinement

rae_diant's review against another edition

adventurous dark lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.75

Overall very fun. Don't expect well rounded characters or character development. Classic fairytale vibe. Was very frustrated with our main character it often felt like she was a Mary Sue but for the most part it worked. The plot was very strong and the ending was super inviting. Highly recommend as a fun read. I really think I'll enjoy it even more on a second read now that I know what to expect. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Confinement and Death

Minor: Sexual harassment and Emotional abuse

saintyeehaw's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

3.75

I kept rooting for this book and it kind of kept letting me down, sadly. I fell in love with the magic system, the visualizations of spell casting, the descriptions of reading the Summoning, and the dark horror of the Wood. Unfortunately, Sarkan's never ending verbal abuse toward Nieshka, her being 17 to his 150, the weird sympathetic framing of a rapist, and the inclusion of only one explicitly black character just to have her be the daughter of a slave really soured me on the whole thing. 

I'll just rant here. The fact that Sarkan chooses specifically girls (never explained why boys aren't chosen if everyone with the gift must be trained) and expects them to cook all his meals for him for ten years was already irredeemable in my eyes. His constant berating of Nieshka literally left her EXPECTING abuse multiple times throughout the book which left me feeling sick at its romanticization. Truly, Sarkan's only traits were that he liked cleanliness and that he was mean. Their hideous age gap (of literally a child and a very old man) being framed as his excuse to momentarily hesitate from sex with her? yikes. Why did she need to be 17? I would have much preferred reading about an adult woman and her ages old immortal boyfriend. Lastly, the rape scene was handled unbelievably poorly and just made Sarkan even more monstrous to me.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War

Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Child death, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Murder, and Vomit

shieldbearer's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

A very strong read, although I preferred Spinning Silver. My primary complaint is the romance between Sarkan and Agneskia - I simply could not see the romantic chemistr. It felt forced to me, and I think the narrative would have been better served without it. 

I also can't say I liked the reveal about the origin of the Wood Queen and the reason the wood is attacking. I think the Staryk were handled with more nuance in Spinning Silver. 

However, I would still strongly recommend this novel. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Murder, Medical content, Death, Confinement, Blood, Body horror, and Animal death

Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Vomit