Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

5 reviews

kathrynleereads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

As a human, mysteries intrigue me. As a person who devoted years to the study of anthropology, mysteries of culture consume me. 

So a story about a city, mysterious from the beginning, but suddenly lost, disappeared from the world? It felt like magic to have stumbled upon it.

Right from the prologue, Strange the Dreamer grabbed my attention and refused to let go. 

The story, the characters, the settings, the dreams, they all just kept getting better and better. 

Watching the history of Weep unfold bit by bit in tiny little shards of knowledge was mesmerizing.

Other than the gods themselves, there were no characters that I didn’t like. 

The only two who came close were Minya and Thyon, but even the two of them weren’t evil, they just lacked compassion. 

And the dreams.

Laini Taylor’s writing truly encompasses and deserves the word “art.”

I have long wished that I could dive into the worlds I read about, and then there I was, reading about a world I wanted to dive into, and within that world they were doing the same thing.

The connection I felt to Lazlo and Sarai as they dove into dreams together and made their stories was one of the strongest I’ve ever felt with a character (or characters in this case). 

I’m both excited and terrified to learn where the story, and the unseen city of Weep itself, go from here.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Genocide, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Child death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, and War

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Child abuse

Minor: Homophobia

aidamaria_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-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

I’ve been wanting to read Strange the Dreamer for years now and it did not disappoint. It is wonderfully written, full of terrors and splendours and it made me Weep. Also, I hate to break it to all other fictional men but they can pack their bags: Lazlo Strange is the most beautiful protagonist I’ve ever encountered, both inside and out. I hope the second book will be just as good, although I suspect there to be a little less dreaming and a lot more drama (and imminent double heartbreak). Either way, I look forward to diving right back into Lazlo’s world as soon as I’ve emotionally recovered from the first part of the duology.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and War

hotpinkmess's review

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

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence

cheyenne_rose's review

emotional mysterious 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? No

4.5

I really really love Laini Taylor. Her ability to worldbuild is so unique and incredible to experience. The characters? Beautiful. The emotions? Even better. And the style of writing? I was a hundred pages in before I even realized time had passed 😅 my one small issue is that she tends toward flowery language, and the result is usually beautiful and evocative and whimsical, but when it doesn't land, it ends up clunky and awkward. But that's rare, and overshadowed by everything else that's good about the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Gore and Rape

Minor: Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Bullying

emkplatts's review

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? No

3.5

I really liked this story and I didn't feel like it was too predictable! I like the commentary on hate in society and how it can infect generations and people who aren't directly impacted by an event. I also enjoyed the point of looking past the exterior of a person in order to get to know the person they truly are. I really love Lazlo's character and I'm predicting massive character growth for Thyon in the next book. I didn't give this five stars because I felt there were some writing choices that made the reading confusing at times. There were multiple times when pronouns were used in dialogue instead of names and I had to re-read passages multiple times in order to understand and because of that, I felt like I could only give it four stars. Can't wait to read the next! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Physical abuse