Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek

16 reviews

rambles's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I adored this mix of Polish Folklore, Beauty and the Beast, and Howl's Moving Castle. It has the perfect found family vibes. My only complaint is how fast everything happens in universe time. All that happened in

four months. That's a wild four months.

Loved the narrator for the audiobook too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Body horror, and Death

kendal_reads's review against another edition

i never wanted to pick it up and it was interesting in theory but whenever i was reading i just wanted to do anything else

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Death

Moderate: Bullying and Confinement

readbyjaimes's review against another edition

emotional 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

3.0

I liked the story it was honestly a really enjoyable read. I really loved the Howl's Moving Castle vibes. But, I found myself never really connecting with the characters. I don't know if this was a book-slump situation or if it was the writing style that made me feel so distant from the characters. 

Hateddddd the ending.

If it's not a happy ending, I don't want to read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Blood

Minor: Sexual content

abby_can_read'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

📖
I had high hopes for this book. I think this lived up to my hopes. I liked the worldbuilding and the lore and the magic systems. I liked the relationship between Liska and The Leszy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Violence

Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Animal death

callistag1's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Death, Violence, Suicide, and Body horror

Minor: Death of parent, Grief, Sexism, Vomit, Sexual content, and Blood

erwikka's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.75

I’m not crying at 1 am you are! When I heard this was Howls Moving Castle with Polish lore I couldn’t pick it up fast enough. I’m happy to admit that it lives up to the Howl’s comparison. I throughly enjoyed this one. It felt like you were in a fairytale and those are some of my favorites I also love the Polish names. Pretty sure this book and the ending will be sitting in my feels for a while and you gotta love that. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, and Animal death

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

ghostlyprince's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

haven't been this distraught over a book since grade eight I'm in agony I'm in mourning I'm

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Suicide

Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, Religious bigotry, Animal cruelty, Blood, Colonisation, and Abandonment

Minor: Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Child death

*There is a scene where someone poisons their cow on purpose to expose another character but it's the only on page depiction of animal harm/cruelty *There is a scene that implies a character is in a abusive marriage

folkofthebook's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.25

“You are not a monster, Liska Radost. You are sunlight, and you breathe life into everything you touch.”

beauty in the beast meets howl's moving castle with much polish folklore & cultural influence and a whole lots of magic & forest 💚

there are lots of cozy cottagecore vibes and its a slower pace standalone, but it's an impressive debut novel. the magic system was intriguing with its interweaving of folklore creatures, and i found myself surprised at some revelations. there was a solid romance with some fun banter and a surprisingly charming found family. shoutout to the queer rep as well!

it was bittersweet but very touching, and i look forward to more stories from Poranek.

“There is a thing we do,” the Leszy says, “where we rearrange ourselves, cutting off pieces here and there to fit a mold that was never meant for us. I know something of that. But becoming the Driada’s warden taught me one thing: if the world had not prepared a place for you, you must take up a hammer and chisel and carve one out for yourself.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Grief and Death of parent

robin_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

This is for fans or romantasy and The Witcher series for sure. The audiobook was well narrated. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Violence

theespressoedition's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death, Body horror, and Blood

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Murder, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Suicide