Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames

7 reviews

rachelunabridged's review

adventurous dark funny 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Sexual content, and Violence

rosemaryandrue's review

adventurous dark funny fast-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? Yes

4.25

When Tam joins the mercenary band Fable as their bard, she expected fame and adventure, but gets more than she bargained for when the group accepts a mysterious mission from a shady patroness.

This book is the sequel to Kings of the Wyld, which I read a few years back and utterly adored. Here we follow Fable, the band of Gabe's daughter Rose, from the perspective of a young bard, Tam, who joins them on the road. The story is much darker than the first book, with more attention paid to the backstories of the characters. As such, I thought there was more emotional heft to this book.

However, I did miss the found family aspect of the story for a while as it took some time for it to grow as Tam is slowly integrated into the band. I also wished the story hadn't ended so abruptly, as the reader gets left to deal with certain character deaths on their own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Death, Drug use, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual violence

seanml's review

adventurous dark funny 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

4.0

Bloody Rose is a fun return to the world of Kings of the Wyld. Eames struck gold with the first book, ad easily could have played the joke up again and again in sequels. Luckily, he didn't, and went in a different direction. Bloody Rose still retains the fun characters, over-the-top world, and humor of the first book, but takes sharp dramatic turns where Kings of the Wyld usually would have remained lighthearted. Our protagonists, although not as immediately grabbing as Kings of the Wylds', grow on you over time, especially the titular character. I continue to look forward to anything Eames puts out. 8/10.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Murder, Death of parent, Violence, War, Gore, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Trafficking, Physical abuse, Addiction, Slavery, and Colonisation

Minor: Sexual violence, Abandonment, and Cannibalism

little_white's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Addiction, and Drug use

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Trafficking

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

achillea's review

adventurous dark emotional lighthearted sad fast-paced

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

everything is still happening so much except it's darker and more emotional. help

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, and Self harm

hunt_rian's review

adventurous challenging dark funny fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Loved Kings of the Wyld and was very excited to get more women in on the action. The core woman are all very layered and complex, and there are a lot of great relationships on display (including main-storyline LGBTQIA+). However,

a little tired of sexual assault being used as a tragic backstory, even though it is not gratuitous in this book

. Even still, it’s a worthwhile read and a potent story even if it is a little more scattered than Kings. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use

alexalily's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Death of parent, Slavery, Addiction, Murder, Alcohol, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child death, and Cursing

Minor: Animal death, Fatphobia, and Self harm