Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Pestilence by Laura Thalassa

20 reviews

the_bookworm_rabbit's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.0

I was really disappointed with this book. The initial premise was so interesting, and I was so excited to see how the romance was going to play out, but instead, I found myself literally shouting my disgust at my Kindle. 

Sara, at least at a couple of points in the story,  seems like a badass firefighter with her head screwed on right. Unfortunately, that is not the case as she seems to be content with forgiving Pestilence for abusing her in some of the worst ways possible just because he's attractive. 

As someone who enjoys a dark romance, I have found that there's a fine line between having a love interest whom you can understand the protagonist falling for, and someone who is basically unredeemable. The mental and physical abuse Sara is put through is vile, yet somehow she still falls for Pestilence just because he shows a few moments of regret (which is a common abuse strategy).

This was not the book for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Emotional abuse

ellalife's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

0.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Torture, Gore, Genocide, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Sexism, Misogyny, and Kidnapping

unsuttefing. the main love intrest is litteraly discusting, misogenitic inhuman guy.

and after constent abuse he is not ponished or reedimed, he just gets the girl like nothing happend

ellyg_97's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

konniesbb's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect going into this book but, in the end, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. 

Set in an apocalyptic world, Sara Burns is set to kill Pestilence the Conqueror, the first of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Unfortunately, Sara's attempt to assassinate the horseman fail and instead she is held prisoner by him.  

The book is very dark and quite detailed and gruesome in its descriptions of violence, death and abuse. This did not affect my enjoyment of the book, as I did feel it added to the sinister backdrop it takes place in, but I do think it may be too much for some readers. 

Naturally, this being an enemies-to-lovers romance (and an extreme one at that!), the relationship portrayed in the book is incredibly toxic and unhealthy. However, I don't think the author is trying to glamourise this kind of behaviour or relationship and, at the end of the day, it's not meant to be taken too seriously. 

I really enjoyed the author's style of writing - it was rich in detail while still remaining fast-paced and dramatic. I enjoyed the first-person narration from Sara's POV and how we got to see her relationship with her captor change through her eyes. 

I felt the last few chapters were rather rushed as though we were rather barreling toward the end of the story. The resolution at the end could've been a little more involved, plus it all felt a little too neatly tied up considering the circumstances; but again, I don't think it should be taken too seriously. Good setup for the next book in the series as well - I think I might give it a go. 

On the whole, a very enjoyable read which kept me hooked! Would recommend to fans of fantasy romances, enemies-to-lovers, slow burns etc. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Death

Moderate: Physical abuse and Emotional abuse

cinderrunner's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I have a lot of conflicting emotions about this book. I am not a fan of "dark" romances typically and don't see the appeal of fictional relationships that are founded on toxicity/abuse. I didn't realize just how dark this novel was before i picked it up. The relationship between Sara and Pestilence is very abusive, toxic, and violent; all of which  was incredibly off putting and made it difficult to get into the love aspects of the story. However, the world in which the novel was crafted and the plot surrounding the relationship made me enjoy it to the point where I would have given the book 5 stars if it weren't for the awful relationship dynamics. The author created a brilliant landscape for a world sliding deeper into dystopia. She also did an incredible job capturing the moral complexity of humanity and of our ideals around right or wrong. The book was surprisingly poignant and tugged tight on my heartstrings. The violence and cruelty of the romance didn't feel pointless and the author made Pestilence's grasp of what humanity really means grow in a way that I was able to feel for him and Sara. I was worried the topic of religion would be overbearing given that the plot revolves around the four horsemen of the apocalypse, but it is handled with tact and in such a neutral way that I think an open minded reader of pretty much any background would be okay with it. But please check trigger warnings for this book because it is very dystopian and dark. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Grief, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Torture, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, Rape, Death, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Murder

cluckieduck's review

challenging dark slow-paced

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

2.0

An interesting premise, but I found most of it to just be sorta…meh. The world building, the writing, the “romance” - it just lacked the substance that allows me to fully invest in what I’m reading, though I did think Pestilence was an intriguing lead. I found myself wondering, like Sara did, how can one fall for him? Is it his naivety? He did make quite a funny nursemaid. 

The sex scenes were rough (and not in a good way) - poor Sara’s vag deserves a break from all the furious pounding. Much like the rest of the story, it’s overly repetitive and not written well. A very underwhelming read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Vomit, Sexual content, and Torture

Minor: Rape

ka_ke's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.0

As a fan of Laura Thalassa, I was a little let down by Pestilence. I found that there was no plot, but also no spice. The theological perspectives thrown in are enlightening, but it’s not why I read the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Emotional abuse, Grief, Blood, Body horror, Death, Cursing, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Murder, and Sexual content

c_dmckinney's review

adventurous challenging dark tense 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, War, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Classism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Genocide

books_bunny's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.0

This book surprised me, whilst I went in relatively blind and expecting an average read I found myself really enjoying this book. Some of the themes were a lot darker than I expected and, whilst I really enjoyed how the author wrote them, I can see why some people would not. If you are sensitive to certain themes I would recommend checking the content warnings beforehand.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Genocide, Gun violence, Murder, Terminal illness, Violence, Sexual content, and Torture

Moderate: Child death, Toxic relationship, Grief, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, and Blood

Minor: Confinement, Vomit, and Medical content

jasirepe's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence