Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore

25 reviews

beary_bookwormish's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense slow-paced

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

4.25

As always Miss Cashore spends a wonderful yarn. I love that her characters have a lot of depth and they are very human. It's a fantasy without it being too fantastical. The characters are very flawed.

The character Lavesa is extremely complicated. She has so many things going on and she is always trying to figure out something, about someone or something. Her mind is constantly in overdrive. Her journey is very different that's the best way to put it. I was really surprised about the promiscuity of the main character Lavesa she had no Scruples whatsoever which was surprising.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Gaslighting, Torture, Toxic relationship, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Mental illness, Abandonment, Child abuse, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Sexual content

gen_nh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Confinement, Murder, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Grief

how_sweet_the_sound's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

This book is very different from the rest of the Graceling realm series, especially with it’s multiple POVs, but it’s a beautiful story of love for each other and for one’s country as Bitterblue wants to continue to right the wrongs done to Monsea and Lovisa wants to right the wrongs done to herself and her family.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, War, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Murder, Animal cruelty, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping

emilycfox's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, and Child abuse

Minor: Sexual assault and Toxic relationship

albernikolauras's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted 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? Yes

4.5

Winterkeep follows Bitterblue in a brand new nation with a brand new culture, magic system, & government. I was worried we would spend too much time following Bitterblue or Gideon, but instead we follow Lovisa - a daughter to some very important politicians.

I really enjoyed following Lovisa and the path she went on. It was hard following her some times and this book carries on with a lot of the heavy themes Cashore writes so delicately. There are adorable foxes and lovable characters, and I love how strategic and delibrate Lovisa is.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Child abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Xenophobia, Violence, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual content

lizziaha's review against another edition

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

I love the additions to the Graceling world in this book! I especially enjoyed the Keeper(?) perspective and the interactions with the silbercows. I also thought that Lovisa as a character was very complex, and it was refreshing to see a teen in YA acting like a teenager instead of a small adult. very excited to pick up the next installment! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Confinement, Death, Child abuse, Classism, Murder, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Drug use, Animal death, and Death of parent

laurenkimoto's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I put off reading this for such a long time because I didn’t think anything could live up to the original trilogy but I regret that choice. Cashore expands the world and builds the characters deftly while dealing with some heavy and serious topics with nuance and care. 

I was warned about the parents and wow I did not expect it to go like it did and how it evolved

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Violence, Animal cruelty, Confinement, and Classism

margaret_k30's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Death

Minor: Sexual content, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

kllyholt's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.75

I think Bitterblue may be one of my all time favorite characters and I loved seeing her again in this book, and especially because all the parallels between her and Lovisa’s upbringings were really interesting. But I absolutely hated that

Giddon and Bitterblue ended up together- mostly because of the age gap. I mean I saw it coming, and yes she’s older in this book, but he met her when she had just barely turned eighteen and he’s literally in his thirties. It gives me the ick- the author makes it obvious that it’s alright because “Giddon is a such good man” but that feels like such a cop out and really poor excuse, especially given how he has been in almost a mentorship role with her the entire time. It just reeks of grooming in my opinion. It’s not the most egregious display of it I’ve ever seen, but it’s still disappointing. It’s why I’m rating this book a little lower than I might have otherwise.

I liked everything else about this book though, especially the political and environmental commentary- it was really interesting and fun to read. 
Also, Lovisa’s character seemed very autistic to me- there’s one quote where she says, ‘“Why shouldn’t I ask about it directly? Would it be so terrible for everyone to say what they mean when they do things, and what they want, and why? Wouldn’t it make things simpler, and create fewer disasters?”’ 
Growing up I must have cried about that exact same thing hundreds of times- because I couldn’t understand why everyone around me would be upset or read into what I say all the time when I was trying my hardest to communicate with them the only way I am really able to. Anyways, I don’t know if this was an intentional thing by the author or not, but I definitely saw myself in Lovisa because of that and it made me love her character so much more. 

Also, the Keeper and the silbercows? I’m obsessed with them. Love them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Child abuse, and Death

Moderate: Animal cruelty

Minor: Animal death

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Kidnapping, Confinement, Classism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Violence, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Blood, War, Bullying, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Vomit, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Torture

Drowning. Slut shaming. Starvation. Relationship between characters who are currently both adults, but almost definitely met when one was around 10 and the other was an older teenager/adult.