Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

55 reviews

oneeyedjess's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and War

nickthefailure's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring reflective slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Classism

binca's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, and Violence

Minor: War

laurab's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Suicide

therobinjoyce's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.0

A great continuation to the Graceling series by Kristin Cashore. I’ll admit, it was a lot harder to get into than Graceling but not as much so as Fire.

It was fantastic to be reunited with Bitterblue, Po, Katsa, Giddon, Raffin, Helda, and to also get a glimpse into some of the characters we got to know throughout Fire once more.

It was a fantastic YA fantasy and this one was filled with far more political intrigue and court politics but it was amazingly done and we still had a harrowing and gritty adventure through this fantasy realm once more. 

Bitterblue’s character has matured so much as have some of the others, but it was wonderful to follow her as an adolescent making her mark on her world and trying to rule. The whole cast of new characters that were introduced were also great and I loved so many of them. 

Just a fantastic follow up to the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Kidnapping

elle_dee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious slow-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

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

charlieash's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.5

katsa and po brought a deranged energy to this book. tackling each other and grappling in a fountain and screaming and crying and holding each other ... that's love baby!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicide, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Rape

alexander_pendragon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicide, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

sophiareadswaytoomuch's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

I loved this book the first time I read it (almost 10 years ago, when it came out in 2012) and I have to say it holds up. On a reread, it’s still one of the best stories I’ve ever read. The set up is a little slow, but the payoff is worth it. The mystery is well handled and intriguing, all the characters are well developed, and the plot itself really grabs hold of you and doesn’t let go. Cashore does a great job of building on the world and characters established in the earlier books. Bitterblue is one of my all time favourite characters. This book also has LGBT+ rep and it handles a bunch of mental health issues (resulting from trauma) in a way that feels realistic, sensitive, and nuanced. It explores the effects of a kingdom under the grip of a tyrant for five decades, and the lingering effects of that trauma. A fascinating and unique read. Could potentially be read as a stand alone, but the pay off is much better after reading the first two books in the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Rape, Self harm, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

ken_mcmurdie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, and Suicide attempt