Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

66 reviews

mlewis's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Stalking, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Racism

Minor: Slavery

molly_storm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

I put off listening to Hell Bent for ages after getting it on Audible, because I figured I would really need to focus on it - the time skips in Ninth House had really baffled me at first but by the end everything made sense so I figured this one would be the same. 

I was definitely not disappointed in the plot! Three nights in a row, I stayed up past 4am listening to this audiobook after going to bed. It flows beautifully - I know a lot of people have said that it’s too fast or feels rushed but I disagree wholeheartedly. 

I’m excited for the story to continue in the 3rd one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Death, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Blood, Police brutality, Addiction, Death of parent, and Self harm

Minor: Vomit, Police brutality, Torture, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Cannibalism, Excrement, Drug abuse, Medical content, Drug use, Mental illness, Confinement, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual assault

By and large, the above triggers I feel are present are handled appropriately and are not there for gratuitous reasons.

marinaaurelia's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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: Death and Murder

Moderate: Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal death

Minor: Drug abuse, Vomit, Forced institutionalization, and Emotional abuse

itisnatal's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Drug use, and Misogyny

suchsweetsorrow89's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

3.5 really, but I thought the book was fun so it gets bumped a star. overall, compared to her last, I think this one is slightly better in the sense that I felt there were fewer random/unnecessary moments than in the first book (especially in moments that deal with heavy gender-based cases of abuse and assault). however, one of the negatives is the pacing of the book. I often found that the descriptions were a bit heavy at times and I felt that there was not as much connection and genuine interactions with the characters as there was in the first book, so the chemistry, while not feeling forced, just fell flat. 

there are some specific things within this that I will spoil below, but all in all, I think this is a really fun read when you're looking to pass the time. in addition, I think the serious moments and reflections in this book are really stunning and you can tell how much leigh as evolved as a writer, philosopher, and world-builder.

- I would have liked to see more of dawes' backstory! while alex's story is special, it's also the story we have heard before. I thought one of the strongest aspects of ninth house was darlington's story, and I would have loved something similar for dawes, especially since she plays a more prominent role.

- on that note on darlington, I wish there were more of him. while I understand that's the 'point', I thought he fell way flatter than usual in his own thoughts and in his interactions with everyone after being rescued. it really did feel like he took more of a secondary/unnecessary role after his rescue, and it left me feeling uncomfortable in the wrong way (almost like it was defamation to all that his character was built up to be in the first book). I'm also not really buying that he would just surrender to alex, to his role, and to lethe as easily as he did.

- the twist was... just fine. maybe it's because I'm older, but I thought that this twist was a bit more expected than the first and just was not a page-turner in the way the other was.

- unfortunately, the ending did not make me really excited for the third book, since this new plotline just felt like a weird grab all while the one for the first book just made more sense? idk idk

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Torture, Child death, Blood, Gore, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Vomit, and Police brutality

Minor: Animal cruelty, Police brutality, Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, and Panic attacks/disorders

krisalexcole's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Animal death, Death of parent, Gore, Sexual assault, Vomit, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Drug use, Animal cruelty, and Blood

Minor: Racism, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Fatphobia, Slavery, Suicide attempt, and Body shaming

theotheleo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Murder, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Violence, Cursing, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Torture, Child death, Racism, Blood, and Mental illness

Minor: Emotional abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Death of parent, Suicide, Slavery, and Medical trauma

carolynkwolff's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Animal death, Drug use, Gore, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Death of parent, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Rape, Animal cruelty, and Slavery

Minor: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

helenferg'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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Blood, Body horror, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death of parent, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Gore, Kidnapping, Racism, and Drug use

kimschouwenaar's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

leigh bardugo, you are my religion <3

a little dubious about some turns the story took, but in the end there is nothing — NOTHING — I would want to see done differently. this was such a treat and is one of my new all-time-faves.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Misogyny, Addiction, and Slavery

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Vomit