Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Dief van de nacht by Holly Black

16 reviews

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Really interesting premise for a story. Fantasy with a badass, curvy, female protagonist who is a little rough around the edges but sharp as a tack. I’m excited for the second one…in 2024. Really starting to get into fantasy stuff more and more. Will also be checking out this author’s other books. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Classism, Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, and Child abuse

mitrosec's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I love Holly Black to death and I think that her biggest strengths are focusing her books around a great heroine. Anyone reading this book (or any of her books) for romance will not get what they are looking for.
 I am excited to see where she takes this character in future novels. I was genuinely shocked by the twist at the end. Another one of Holly’s strong suits is  giving her readers little truths so that they think they have it all figured out, but at the right moment… she pulls the rug out and you are left speechless. 
 The new world Holly created in this book was hard to get used to at first. After a while I got used to it. This book got a 3.5 from me because I felt as though it was missing so much. Her relationship with her sister felt underdeveloped along with several other things i cannot place. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit

Moderate: Murder, Incest, Addiction, and Gore

Minor: Pedophilia and Torture

thoughtsontomes's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

3.0

I wasn't a huge fan of TCP, so I didn't go into this with any expectations but was hoping to like this more than her other work. I find that Holly Black's writing style doesn't really work for me. She has some cool worlds and magic systems, but under-develops them. Her writing style is lacking and leaves me wanting more. Side characters don't feel very fleshed out. And Charlie as a main character felt a little heavy handed with the morally grey thief thing which has become a little overdone these days. I did really enjoy Vince as a character though and would have almost preferred more from his POV. Some of the mystery elements were also compelling, even if I figured a few of them out beforehand. I'm also a bit annoyed that the ending makes this obvious that it's at least going to be a duology but was not marketed as such - which is kind of annoying when it's a cliffhanger ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Torture, Self harm, and Blood

Moderate: Drug abuse

Minor: Incest and Sexual assault

levesc17's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Main character Charlie Hall is a lit match. And everything around her tends to burn. Which was suspenseful and sometimes difficult to read. However about halfway through the book the momentum really picks up and even though I predicted the plot twist, I was on the edge of my seat rooting for Charlie, hoping she’d save the day. There’s a soft set up for a follow up book which I’ll definitely read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture and Death

karapillar's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Kidnapping, Classism, Vomit, Murder, Cursing, and Death

Moderate: Confinement, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Stalking, Torture, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Sexual content, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

imogenlj's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Cursing, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, and Death