Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown

24 reviews

brittanylovesbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

I enjoyed the concept of this book and the endless possibilities the magical books, specifically the book of doors, can create.  I was not a fan of the graphic descriptions of violence throughout the book and was not aware of them prior to reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Violence

Moderate: Grief

silverhill's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Blood, Death, Torture, and Gore

Moderate: Cancer, Grief, Stalking, and Gun violence

Minor: Racism, Vomit, and Dementia

robin_reads's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

The premise of this sounded extremely promising and right up my alley. There were pacing issues, plot twists that felt forced and it felt all over the place. 

The creation of the books especially was something that just didn’t make that much sense to me and from there on out I had a hard time continuing the read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Moderate: Grief, Torture, and Body horror

cardlikecredit's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

I loved this book. The concept is so interesting and well thought out. The interspersed magic into real life settings made for a fun read. I'm so hoping the ending is setting up for a series!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Torture, Death, Gun violence, and Murder

Minor: Cancer

lorit1227's review

emotional informative mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Murder, Torture, and Violence

meg_turnsthepage's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

It took me awhile to get into the book, then I’d be hooked and feel really into the story, and then  dropped off again. At times the story was fun and adventurous and then would take an abrupt dark turn that seemed too sudden, like it didn’t flow as well as it could. 

I liked how the book ended, it warmed my heart and brought everything together full circle.

 I listened to the audiobook and some of the accents seemed off at times which confused me. Some problematic language and racial slurs were used that had me saying to myself “did I hear that right?” Along with misogynistic themes that didn’t seem necessary.

Overall, I liked the storyline, enjoyed the friendships and bonds made between some of the characters, but the plot was choppy. The book had 5 star potential if the writing had edited out some unnecessary language and descriptions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Death, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Grief

tanilian's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

This was a great debut novel. The characters were well written and the plot made sense, I don't remember any plot-holes by the end. And for a man writing, this was so refreshingly not in the least male-gazey. No insta-love (technically) too!

There are, however, a few things I found a bit tedious. First and foremost, why the hell do characters insist on monologuing in the fights 90% of the time? Make the first move instead of trash-talking your opponent, for my mentality's sake please.

Also in the last confrontation scene, they decide to herd The Woman to the doorway to Nowhere <i>physically</i> instead of using the Book of Control, which was done absolutely to prolong the fight and find something for Izzy (so underused there) in the fight to do. The way the Woman became the evil villain, was a bit anticlimactic, but at least it was not because of rape like so many other male authors are wont to do.

There were a few pacing issues as well, when the plot became boring to follow, but they were course-corrected fast so not that big of a deal.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent, Cancer, and Dementia

laheath's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? No

5.0

Wow! I know my words will not do justice to this book. I don't think I've ever been so impressed with a debut novel. Clear your schedule because you won't want to put it down! I don't read fantasy often, but the premise of a group of booklovers and a library of magical books captivated me. There's time travel and a battle between good and evil with characters who greatly value their relationships with friends and family. As far as the audiobook, the narrator was fantastic, seamlessly transitioning among the characters' accents.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Grief, Murder, Violence, Cancer, Blood, and Torture

Minor: Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Cursing

nukie19's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, and Vomit

bookdrunkard78's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, Gun violence, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Death of parent, Blood, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, and Death