Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Saint Death's Daughter by C.S.E. Cooney

5 reviews

sashahc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I just read “Saint Death’s Daughter” by CSE Cooney.  For some reason, the TBR gods have been sending me Necromancers lately.  This one has a literal allergy to violence, but was born into a family of assassins and executioners.  It’s got court drama, family drama, ghosts, revenants, skeletons, shapeshifters, and a really interesting magic system.  There are sweet parts, very grim parts, and it’s delightfully unpredictable and effortlessly queer.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Death of parent

Moderate: Gaslighting and Domestic abuse

tah_014'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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Violence, Murder, and Death

5aru's review against another edition

adventurous challenging lighthearted slow-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? No

3.25

This book is delightfully written; it plays with language exceedingly well, and weaves complex worldbuilding without often resorting to information dumps. However, at about the halfway point, it began to drag on. Though many of the scenes delving into the characters relationships were welcome, some of them felt too much like filler, particularly later in the book. Eventually, it started to feel far too long for the story it was telling, like too many loops were necessary to develop the plot. I enjoyed the first half immensely, but ended up feeling a little disappointed in it after all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Domestic abuse

aardwyrm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

Cooney's prose is rich on the scale of croquembouche and should be treated accordingly. The prose and general structure walk a tightrope that passes over twee and saccharine, and there are occasional stumbles, but the overall effect is worth it. The book is the epitome of "no plot, just vibes" for nigh on 500 pages despite having a few vague throughlines. The feeling of being a fourteen year old goth listening to The Black Parade just before falling asleep. There aren't characters so much as beautiful paper dolls with clever joints being puppeted across a stage made of pitch-black cotton candy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Abandonment, Body horror, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Animal death, Child abuse, Grief, Murder, Violence, and War

rcsreads's review against another edition

Everything had a silly name and it added to the writers struggle to world build without just a dull information dump. It has potential but needed some heavy editing. 
Plus 635 pages for part one of a trilogy is too long unless you're Robin Hobb!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Blood

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Kidnapping

Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, and Death of parent