Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

48 reviews

ineffablebob's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

The story of the lunar queen in the Lunar Chronicles is not a happy one. Levana is the indisputable villain of the series, and this short book tells her backstory. There are some aspects where she deserves some sympathy , but for the most part she demonstrates the ruthlessness and lack of concern for others that will be familiar from the rest of the series . This story is as well-written as the author's other books, but unlike the other stories in this series there's no bright spots in this one. Worth reading for fans of the series but probably not a good one to start with, see if you like the happier adventuring first.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse and Emotional abuse

amschelly153's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The backstory is sometimes hard to read but also well written. Informative and dark, but helpful to know.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Abandonment, Death of parent, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, and Bullying

h4wk1nz's review against another edition

dark fast-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? Yes

4.0

a good quick read, i read 60 pages last night and the rest this evening. i always find marissa meyer’s books to be easy to read and flow well, so it was very enjoyable and light.

i must admit i found myself confused at times, thinking i’d missed something but in most of those situations it was explained on the next page.
so while that was a little off putting for a split second, i was never completely lost and have not been left with any lingering questions about those moments.

overall this was a great read and i am as usual blown away by meyer’s ability to tell a story so fluidly even in this ‘unconventional’ time skipping style.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Child abuse, Bullying, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

not major but not minor spoiler:

Levana manipulates a man older than her into marrying her

kasaya_mt33's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

4.0

It was agonizingly uncomfortable being in the head of Queen Levana and her delusions of grandeur.... The tragedy of how the evil queen came to be and the tragedies that followed, I felt were written quite well. I was triggered by certain situations portrayed in the book but otherwise an unforgettable read.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Child death, and Emotional abuse

christy15reads's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

3.0

Finished this book this morning from the Lunar Chronicles series . It tells why Queen Levana is as wicked as she is and confirms that I don't like her at all. And while Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress are suitable for the 14+ crowd, with a kiss here or there, I think this one is for someone older because of all the promiscuity in it!  It was rather disappointing if you ask me because my teen daughter was reading these books along with me. Now I'm just hoping that Winter is not as inappropriate and she can finish the series with me because we both enjoyed the first 3 books but I can't pass this one along to her - I'll have to just fill her in on the queen's history.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Infertility, Child abuse, Death, Child death, Torture, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Stalking, and Rape

bean_7088's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Whoops what a doozy! Murderous queen backstory makes her worse!

Like, part of it is sad, like spoiled kids growing up sheltered in the nasty circles they do makes for horrible people and children.. but she had chances to be a better person. 

I still loved the writing 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Rape, Death, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Basically the evil queen has been abused and then she abuses, manipulates, forces her husband into sleeping with her.

daniellecheri's review against another edition

sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I give this book five stars because of the writing. I didn't feel any sympathy for Levana. It made my skin crawl. And I call that excellent writing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Murder, Bullying, and Child death

strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-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

4.0

“Here is what I think of love.” Is the last line of the book and I think it sums it up pretty well. 

When starting the book I was hoping that it would humanize Levana a little bit and make us like her more, but I was wrong. It was annoying because I feel that when you are reading about a villain you want to know what events led to them Losing their humanity, but it seemed Levana never had any. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Murder, Blood, Child death, Grief, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Body horror

Moderate: Pregnancy, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Minor: War, Sexual content, Bullying, Gore, and Pandemic/Epidemic

kenna13's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

3.0

I do kind of pity Levana, but not in the “oh she deserved better” way,

more in the “oh you made some stupid decisions” way. And that ending was so sad. Justice for Evret Hayle

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Pregnancy, Rape, Violence, and Death

Minor: Death of parent and Infertility

colorwriter's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Emotional abuse

Minor: Classism, Body shaming, Child death, Death of parent, and Murder