Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Okno skąpane w mroku

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Okno skąpane w mroku by Rachel Gillig

217 reviews

randirush's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

hiiiii i need to read the second book RN

Content Warnings

leasasaa's review against another edition

3.75

dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

The atmosphere, the storyline, the magic system and the writing (mostly) were all great; where the book failed for me was the romance plot unfortunately. It felt really flat and rushed and was just not really believable. And i had a tiny problem with the writing and that is just the overuse of some phrases that stuck out like a thorn in your eye.
But overall still a good story and I will definitely be reading the second book.

Content Warnings

scarlett_librarian's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

reallyrosalie's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

janieboucher's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Content Warnings

amy14's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Content Warnings

peppermint_pink's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Thoroughly enjoyed the writing in this one. I usually dislike love interests at first but Ravyn is just wonderful and Elspeth is an awesome, pretty grounded protagonist. Highly recommend! Also, the magic system's rules are quite interesting and reminds me of equivalent exchange in alchemy. Everything has a price.

Content Warnings

alba_1994's review against another edition

2.5

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This had a great premise. I just felt the character design was very shallow which resulted in inconsistent actions and undeep relationships.

Content Warnings

etymoye's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book took me a little while to get into, to the point where I almost DNF. The writing style is very dense and just very wordy, plus the world-building is kind of slow going. But once things started falling into place, it hooked me.

I felt like the main romance between the two main characters, Elspeth and Ravyn, was just okay. I liked that Ravyn isn’t your stereotypical Alpha Male, but I also felt like we never quite got to know him that well, either. In my opinion, where this book really shines is world-building and storytelling. The atmosphere is really well done, very creepy and tense at times, and I loved the detail about magic being tied to cards. (Though they’re not the only source of magic, which is a major conflict in the book.) Definitely planning on reading book 2.

Safety Stats:

Ages:

Elspeth is 20, I didn’t catch Ravyn’s age.

Cheating:

None.

Other OM/OW:

There's brief mention of another character Elspeth kissed once three years ago. He's interested in courting her now, but she's not interested in him and shuts him down.

Separation:

Separated at the end of the book. Cliffhanger.

Triggers:

Mention of past death of a parent (Elspeth’s mother). Elspeth’s father is alive but a relatively deadbeat dad.

HEA/HFN?:

No, cliffhanger at the end of the book.

Content Warnings

yilliun's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I ate this up. I’ve been in a reading slump for the past few weeks and this officially rescued me

not unlike Ravyn trying to save Elspeth

.

Although the magic system is not completely an original idea, I like how the author developed it. I would have appreciated a glossary at the back of relevant terms and characters because I found myself often forgetting which card bestowed what power.

I appreciated that the romance was more a side plot than the main focus. The story would be able to stand on its own without the romantic elements. Out of all the characters, Hauth and Nerium both felt a little cliche to me and the most cartoonish villain figures. Besides that, I think all the other characters were well fleshed out.

Content Warnings

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