Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker

5 reviews

bree_h_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-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? Yes

2.25

I was really looking forward to read this book. I thought it sounded like a promising concept and I was really curious to see where it went. Unfortunately it felt brought down by lacking the family and family working together when a theme seemed to BE family. What really ruined it for me was a s3x scene between 16-year-olds in the book. It don’t mind that being alluded to, some teens do it and there’s nothing wrong with acknowledging it. I, however, think that those scenes between characters that are minors should be FTB. I will say, it wasn’t drawn out or in explicit detail, but it wasn’t FTB and there was enough detail to make me feel uncomfortable as an adult listening to the book. Outside of that, the only other issue I had was my inability to buy into Clement’s romance, it just felt very shallow and while I felt the chemistry between characters it happened in such a short amount of time I couldn’t buy into the ending for it.

Otherwise, it was overall enjoyable. I thought the sibling dynamics felt realistic. I not only bought into them being siblings, but also their care for each other. The main character also really read like teenagers and felt realistic in that aspect. Overall most characters actually felt very dynamic and rounded out.

The magic system and world building felt realistic and were well executed in delivery. Overall it was interesting and I enjoyed learning about it. The world building also really helped convey some of the books themes and messages. Even with the aforementioned themes and messages were conveyed to the reader in a very heavy handed way. It was a minor detriment to the quality, as it didn’t allow the reader to think for themselves while reading.

Overall, I don’t intend to continue the series, but this was a mostly enjoyable read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Blood, Misogyny, Grief, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and Mental illness

Moderate: Classism, Drug use, Excrement, Infidelity, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Alcohol, Chronic illness, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Rape

amberinpieces's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Blood

Moderate: Grief, Mental illness, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Homophobia, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Classism, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Hate crime, Slavery, Drug use, Stalking, Infidelity, Bullying, Medical content, Vomit, Domestic abuse, and Gun violence

jouan87's review

mysterious sad tense medium-paced

2.0

I received this book for review on netgalley. It is twin 16 year olds whose mom is dying but it turn out it's a hex and they have to figure out who is doing it. The book is okay, some things are clearly left for the next one. It is labeled as YA however, there is sex in this book between teenagers, and I'm not okay with that in a book that is supposed to be YA. That instantly made me want to dnf but I wanted to know the end

thank you netgalley for letting me review this book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Religious bigotry

Minor: Child abuse, Alcoholism, Car accident, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Racism, and Racial slurs

amobrien'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? Yes

4.0

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

Blood Debts is a story about magic, family, and trauma with a magic system that had me immediately hooked. This is a dark YA fantasy with a lot of violence, but I loved the inclusiveness in the characters and the conversations around sexuality, including consent and sex work. There were a lot of characters in this story, which made things difficult to follow at times, but I wasn't put off by it. This was a great read overall, and I think anyone interested in dark YA fantasy would really enjoy it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual content, Homophobia, and Sexual assault

Minor: Death, Gun violence, Bullying, and Death of parent

amandadevoursbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

I recieved an E-ARC thanks to Net Galley and Tor Teen.

It's New Orleans. This New Orleans is filled with backbiting politics between members of the generational council and between the Generational council and the White Mages. There's bad blood going back to before the Civil War and chattel slavery. 

The book wrestles with generational trauma, homophobia, racism, and cultural appropriation. It also poses questions around the nature of revenge and justice.

30 years ago, Kris and Clem's grandmother and grandfather were murdered because a white mob thought they murdered the mayor's daughter. Now, a year after their dad's mysterious death, their mom is so ill she might die. Kris and Clem have to untangle the three mysteries, reunite their families, and come to terms with their collective grief all with a dash of revenge.

I loved the characters, I loved the messiness of the adults, and I adored the representation of generational magic by a Black author. The mysteries were fun, and the book moved quickly.

At times, characters were introduced and not really brought a long or written out. This left me wanting for more time with them and a better understanding of the role they play. 

The end felt a little fast, and I wanted to see more from the whole group in collecting the blood debt. It's almost like three were too many characters to bring along. 

For a YA novel, there's sex on page and frank discussion of sex and sexual assault. This was done intentionally and thoughtful by the author to make the book sex positive. 

It is well set for a sequel, and I'll be thrilled to see it when it does.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Murder, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Racism

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual content, Child abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Death of parent and Gun violence