Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair

18 reviews

sasclostchild's review against another edition

dark sad tense

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

So the first third of the book was very depressing, focusing on our protagonist living the American dream: doing a shitty job they don't like to barely live and to drown their sorrows in alcohol, all while harming a lot of people.

She then turns her life around by quitting alcohol (good for her) and siding with a rebellious group to eat the rich.

This is all accompanied by a very icky straight romance which is not icky because it's straight (although that is a sad part because i was hoping for a sapphic romance but that only exists in a short flashback) but because the dude forces himself on her all the time and the only chemistry they have is some weird interaction between their types of magic that acts as an aphrodisiac making them horny for each other.

She still somehow falls in horny because idk if you can call drug addled make outs love

Then the book also fails to close its main arc during the book but fuck I'm not buying the second book. 
Still 2.25, because the unfinished story got kinda interesting in the second half

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Alcoholism, Racism, Murder, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Slavery

Moderate: Genocide, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

katscradle's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

I thought the main romance would be sapphic... it's not </3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Self harm

Moderate: Addiction and Sexual harassment

stormbringer52's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-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

2.5

My thoughts toward this book are complicated.

The beginning is incredibly heavy. It felt like the author was relying too much on exposition, using it to try and cram how bad the world is down our throats rather than actually showing us. It made living in this world seem almost cartoonishly horrible with

descriptions of dead and starving people lining the streets

. This method undercut the characterization of both the protagonist, Keera, and the major antagonist, King Aemon.

With Keera, the author was simultaneously making sure we knew that she was a badass but also beating us over the head with the fact that her life as the King’s Blade has been horrific. Like with the world, this was mostly told to us. Keera's internal monologue switches back and forth between arrogant bravado and utter despair in a way that feels disjointed and unconvincing.

I also found it unrealistic that she had been the King's best assassin for 30 years but had been a raging alcoholic for 20 of those years, but that is neither here nor there.

Keera's exposition gives us a clear picture of who King Aemon is, showcasing the terrible things he has done and how he feels no remorse over them. This sets him up as a good antagonist. However, in the narrative itself, he is presented simply as a monarch who is stressed about the existence of a rebellious force within his kingdom. We do not actually see him perform any horrendous acts.

However, as the book progresses, the presentation of events becomes more balanced. We leave behind Keera's downtrodden monologue and are actually brought into the present, watching events unfold. We actually meet characters who are impacted by events, and Keera starts to show the effects of her life rather than just tell them to us. The actual plot of the book is revealed, and it is intriguing and compelling. It became interesting. Keera improved as a character for me when she was part of an ensemble cast and had to interact with others.

Now, it is a romantasy book. The romance subplot actually develops somewhat naturally, but it is completely tarnished by inappropriate moments of sexual tension that detract from otherwise serious scenes. The relationship between the leads starts from a point of mutual mistrust, and they gradually get closer as assumptions are broken down. There is a steady progression of the relationship that would otherwise be compelling. However, the constant horniness present

even during their first fight scene

is a major disappointment. Rather than adding anything to these moments, it was a complete disruption that undermined what should have been a tense scene. At one point, I wanted to throw my book across the room.

The book has potential. The plot is interesting, and the cast is diverse and complex. However, the heavy exposition at the beginning and the inappropriate sexual tension completely tarnish it for me. I can't help but leave reading the book with a sour taste in my mouth.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Alcoholism, Genocide, Death, and Slavery

Moderate: Trafficking, Murder, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, and Classism

Minor: Physical abuse and War

Contains the bury your gays trope. Depictions of famine and corpses.

rachelfayreads's review

adventurous dark 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Alcoholism, Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Colonisation

Moderate: Trafficking, Addiction, Torture, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping

ljp817's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexual content, Murder, and Torture

Minor: Trafficking and Sexual harassment

maregred's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Murder, Alcoholism, and Racism

Moderate: Death, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Self harm

Minor: Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Trafficking

ninjatrombonist's review

dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcoholism

moodreadererin's review

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-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

4.0

A Broken Blade follows Keera , the king's blade . She is given a mission to find the new enemy of the crown: the shadow . We go on this journal with her find the shadow and everything that precedes/follows . This is a story of addiction , loss , love , revenge , and violence . 

Things I liked :

-enemies to lovers execution was fantastic 

- one bed trope

-bipoc representation 

- exploration of loss , addiction, recovery in face of violence . 

-found family 

Things I didn't like :

- the pacing was slower than I liked . I didn't like it until the end /last part of the book.

With that said , I still recommend this book. I am looking forward to the sequel .

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Violence, Murder, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Vomit, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Sexual harassment and Stalking

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and War

melissaslibraryy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Wow wow wowwww! I had no idea what to expect from this book since I only picked up the audiobook on Libby for being a fantasy romance (without reading the blurb) but it beat every expectation I had. I assumed it was YA, so imagine my surprise when the characters started cussing in some parts and there was even some spice (though they didn’t go all the way). I love that it was a high stakes fantasy that didn’t shy away from the violence and gore especially since most of it was done by our badass female lead. As for the romance, I’m not mad about the person who was “The Shadow” being predictable bc it leads to an amazing enemies to lovers situation filled with tension due to their forced proximity (and even the “single bed” trope😉.)

The ending may have also been a bit obvious with its plot twist but it left off at a good cliffhanger, so I can’t wait to pick up the next book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Slavery, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Medical content, War, Addiction, Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Self harm

Moderate: Cursing, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Trafficking

lqvekanej's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, Genocide, Death, Alcohol, Self harm, Sexual harassment, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Sexual content and Abandonment