Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Dziewiąty dom by Leigh Bardugo

203 reviews

juliaaayyyy's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Medical content, Drug abuse, Addiction, Drug use, Violence, and Domestic abuse

frawst_disasta_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.25

This book has everything I love: fully realized characters, dark moments, fantasy, and budding friendship. What it doesn’t have, which is refreshing, is romance. This is what A Discovery of Witches should have been, and could have been, if Matthew was a differently written character.

There are graphic scenes, though, and a couple descriptions left me feeling sick.

I couldn’t give it five stars, because I felt the prologue and first chapter didn’t draw me in, so much as confuse me. However, chapter two helped and I found after that, the timelines were fascinating, not just confusing.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Body horror, Vomit, Blood, Classism, Gore, Addiction, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Child abuse

fionamclary's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

The premise and plot of this book were excellently executed. Alex was a great main character, and I loved how she had a strong moral compass that still lead her to do grotesque things.

A couple minor but significant complaints:

The way Alex reacted to Darlington's behavior at the Manuscript party seemed odd considering she is a survivor of SA. While you could argue that she is sympathetic and understanding that the drug he got was a form of SA as well, considering how it affected him, that still doesn't make it reasonable that she'd just be fine with everything. This was jarring amidst Bardugo's otherwise decently sensitive and realistic portrayal of Alex as a SA survivor.

I found that Dawes was autism-coded, and that the way Alex describes her initially indicated that Alex dislikes her for her autistic traits. She seems annoyed by her adherence to rules, alienated by her single-minded focus, put off by her ever-present headphones and favoring the same comfortable clothes.

When Alex does finally get closer to Dawes, it's due to shared trauma, not because she sees that there's nothing wrong with the aspects of her that she was initially put off by.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Classism, Gore, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Murder, Drug abuse, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, and Vomit

Minor: Terminal illness and Cancer

itshrewsbury's review against another edition

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Rape, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Gore

Minor: Antisemitism

joensign's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual assault, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Death, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Body horror

Minor: Antisemitism and Racial slurs

sbeaver's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad

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

4.0

I liked this book overall. I found the last 30 pages really disappointing but that did not really take away from my enjoyment of the book. I love the world Leigh Bardugo created and how even though the magic is fantasy a lot of the stuff about Yale is real. While it is not similar to what happens in the book, there have been in reality students who are rich psychopaths that murder people. My dad used to tell me these stories, and his story being from a poor family and what it was like attending an Ivy League school so I think this book makes me think about the creepy stuff my dad told me. Please please do not ignore the trigger warnings for this book! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gore, and Vomit

gwynnfox's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Trafficking, Violence, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

laraloops's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

One of the best urban fantasy books I've had the pleasure of reading. It's a very very dark book - I would highly recommend looking up trigger warnings for the book if you are not prepared for some very dark content. The prose is beautifully written and the main character is tough but not in a grating way. I felt she and other characters were very realistic and I got attached to them very quickly. 

You can tell the author really wanted to bring Yale to life in this book - the setting is very detailed and is a character in itself. 

Pacing wise it was slow at the beginning but I found myself grateful for that as I had a hard time keeping track of the houses and code names. By the time you get a third of the way into the book the plot really starts picking up and it's a wild ride to the end. It was rough to get through at times, Alex (the main character) has had a depressingly sad life but I found the portrayals of the abuse she suffered felt realistic rather than gratuitous.  

By the end I was immediately ready for the next book - a five star read that I would recommend to anyone who can stomach dark content and wants a well written urban fantasy.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, and Child abuse

Moderate: Drug abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Emotional abuse

hayls657's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense medium-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Death, Gore, and Murder

hnicole01's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Addiction, Grief, Sexism, Rape, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Violence, and Cursing

Moderate: Classism