Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven

4 reviews

hannahjaynej's review against another edition

3.25

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, Classism

hers4thereading's review against another edition

5.0

challenging 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

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Our Infinite Fates is beautiful, haunting and epic. It is only YA because of the mortal age of the main characters, but the story truly appeals to readers all ages. I especially recommend it highly to anyone who loved The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Perhaps I loved this even more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War

Moderate: Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

steen19's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

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Two souls linked indefinitely and destined to kill each other in every lifetime. She only knows pieces of their past lives, but he remembers everything. 

In her current lifetime, Evelyn is trying to make it just a few more days before Arden kills her this time - so she can be an organ donor for her dying sister. The transplant is in a few days. In the present timeline, the main characters have played this cat and mouse game hundreds of times. There are a lot of flashback scenes, which started to bore me halfway into the book. 

This was a highly anticipated release for me, but it left me disappointed. The premise is just so cool with high stakes. While the writing style gave off magical vibes similar to Divine Rivals, it just dragged on too much for me and felt repetitive. Evelyn’s relationship with Arden feels more like codependency and Stockholm syndrome than Romeo and Juliet star-crossed-lovers. I wanted to DNF it, but I also wanted to know the “why” behind their cursed fate. Though that ended up disappointing me in the end. 

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my advanced digital copy!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Self harm, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail

booksalacarte's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Our infinite Fates

4.5⭐️3🌶️

YA fantasy Romance

Stand-alone

17yo MCs

Soulmates

Non-linear Storytelling

Hunter/Hunted Romance

🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 Narratives

Poetic

Historical Cultural Glimpses

Unique Plot

**The book covers a true historical timeline with every triggering societal issue you can imagine when it comes to non-cis love. It also has death, forced institutionalism, torture, cancer, attempted suicide/suicide idealism, kidnapping, loss of a loved one, and many more.

**This is on the spicy side when it comes to YA standards. The author notes on social media that while the bodies in the story are 17, the souls are over 1,000 years old. 

I have to reiterate that this is a young adult book. The main characters are 17, about to turn 18 in every timeline. Within that context you see this story through the POV of Evelyn, and I think that is intended because they know less of their own back story than Arden. This does not feature the POV of Arden who struggles with knowing their 1,000 year timeline. This keeps the plot from being even darker and deeper than its intended audience. 

“I love you, I have loved you, and I will love you”

Was this book perfect? No, not by a long shot. The characters, while rich and complex, felt as though there was a lot left unexplored. Their depth was there, but I couldn’t help but wish for more. Still, despite these gaps, it drew me in, and I was hooked.

One of the most powerful themes woven through the narrative is the idea of love transcending physical form—the idea that love is not confined to one body or one lifetime. It’s a notion that feels both timeless and profoundly moving. The thought of being able to recognize your soulmate, even in a completely different vessel, is pure, unadulterated romance to me. It resonates on a deep emotional level, tapping into that universal longing we all have for a love that outlasts time and space. That’s what made this plot so refreshing. It felt like a new perspective on an age-old concept, something I hadn’t seen explored in quite the same way before.

What struck me most was the sheer poetry of it all. And I don’t mean just in the literal sense, though the inclusion of poetry added a beautiful layer to the narrative. But beyond that, the writing itself exuded a kind of lyrical quality, almost like a rhythm that captured the aching, unfulfilled desire between the characters. Their tragic romance, filled with longing, loss, and the hope (and trepidation) of reunion, was so tangible. Every chapter that revisited their backstory was bittersweet. That longing made the entire journey feel profound and deeply emotional.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism