Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

18 reviews

jackiepreston's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Rape, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Deadnaming and Transphobia

spaghettii's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.75

I could not put this book down! I had a hard time predicting a lot of the book, which was a nice change.

I knew Rand was going to betray her at some point because of how Valek described him, but wow. I like that despite being portrayed as the bad guy there was still depth to the chatacter.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Bullying, Physical abuse, Violence, Vomit, Transphobia, Confinement, Sexism, Drug use, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Torture, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content

brie_is_reading's review against another edition

tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Rape

booksanna's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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

4.75

The Poison Study was a beautifully written story of a traumatized woman struggling with staying alive in a world that seems to be against her. As she explores the castle and her new role as the doomed food taster, she starts to realize what really matters in her life. 

Firstly, Yelena’s characterization was done very well. Her personality felt unique and realistic, and her humor has made me chuckle multiple times throughout the book. Her trauma and backstory felt very real and emotional, it added a great depth to the story and made me slightly concerned for the main heroine’s mental health. Her search for a friend and understanding amongst this madness made me root for her even more. And I loved how Yelena didn’t settle for a role of a damsel in distress and instead chose to repay the people that helped her.

It made me so happy when she asked Ari and Janco to train. I just loved that it was her first thought to become independent

. 

Secondly, the world building was an interesting concept inspired by a militaristic society with a dictator with unusual traits typically not associated with powerful leaders. I actually enjoyed the backstory of the Commander and how he gained his power. It’s really interesting a country switch from a feudalist system to a totalitarian system.

Now that I am thinking, the killing of the magical babies is loosely inspired by the Bible

. I also felt it was interesting how the Commander retained all the power through respect and loyalty and of course murder which seems to be unavoidable in ya fantasy.   I liked the different districts (which kinda reminded me of Hunger Games), and I thought the festivals were a nice touch to the story that added more intrigue. I also really appreciated the map that provided some guidance on the visual comprehension of the story. Love when books do that! 

Thirdly, although I really enjoyed the story I have some bones to pick with it. The romance between the love interest and the MC seems to have sparked from nowhere. The buildup to the confession didn’t create tension or explain why the characters fell for each other. It seemed to have just happened for the sake of the story rather than the characters own actions. I also thought Valek having every job possible and still interacting with the MC and getting sleep was highly impossible. How is he doing all that ? Otherwise I enjoyes the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Rape, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Violence, Toxic relationship, Bullying, and Injury/Injury detail

maevebillings's review

adventurous dark emotional fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Blood, and Transphobia

msstearns13's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Rape and Torture

Minor: Vomit, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Trafficking, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, and Panic attacks/disorders

jgalla's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Blood, Confinement, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Vomit, Violence, Sexual violence, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Slavery, and Sexual harassment

jenna36's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.25

I really liked this book! The beginning up to the middle was very nearly perfect in my opinion, well on the way to a five star read. I did feel that the plot got a bit thin in a few places after the middle of the book. It was not really enough to detract from my enjoyment, but it was enough that I didn't feel like I could justify rating it 5 stars.

I like that there was not a lot of BSing around with the romantic relationship, and there was good communication between Yelena and Valek, which YA often lacks. I feel like this straddles the line of older YA/Adult in the serious topics that it addresses. I'm a little creeped out by the transphobic thoughts Yelena had about the commander, but I think based on the end of the book that she is willing to learn. I am cautiously optimistic that the author herself is not transphobic, but I'm retaining a little suspicion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Transphobia and Violence

Minor: Sexual harassment, Deadnaming, and Self harm

serendipity421'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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Murder, Slavery, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

sienna1508's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Grief, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Child death, Excrement, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment