Reviews tagging 'Gore'

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas

76 reviews

pagesbycaroline's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Whatever I was expecting from this book...it was not THAT. The worldbuilding of this series is so far beyond anything else I ever read, even compared to other SJM books. I can't keep up with it, and just when I have it figured out, there's another layer to it that's peeled back and dives even deeper. I thoroughly enjoyed this and I cannot wait to read the next in the series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Murder, Classism, Violence, War, Cursing, Gore, Torture, Blood, and Grief

Minor: War, Violence, Death, Sexual content, Child abuse, Genocide, Gore, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Grief, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Murder

tiffanysmith's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I’ve had trouble deciding if I like this series or not. ACOTAR has been my favorite by far. In this second installment of the Crescent City series, the characters don’t feel particularly fleshed out and the plot is unorganized and random, as is the typical style of SJM. It’s challenging to read, because the majority of the story lacks good development and I admittedly grew bored. In typical SJM heroine fashion, Bryce was always just doing her own thing and new plot points sprung from nowhere without proper foreshadowing. 

I also don’t enjoy the romance between Hunt and Bryce. Their relationship doesn’t feel genuine, as it’s more of a secondary subplot to the character development. Going into this series, I knew that it wasn’t as romantically based as ACOTAR, so I don’t mind that it’s not the main point of the story, but their relationship evolved so quickly and *surprise*

they’re mates

. I’ve grown weary of the amount of spice in this book because it was there just to be there. I found myself skipping sections of it because it became tiresome and not romantic or genuine.  

The series does have some interesting quality. I’m captivated by SJM’s world that she has constructed. I only wish that it was executed better. If this book had been editing down and had the plot properly foreshadowed and fleshed out, it would have been really interesting! Alas, SJM leaves us with killer cliffhangers in the final pages. I was genuinely thinking of not continuing this series, but the curious part of me needs to know what happens next. So, I suppose I will read the third book and experience the same cycle of emotions of being annoyed at the writing and then stunned by the ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Gore, Blood, and War

Minor: Drug use, Torture, and Sexual harassment

kbowles24's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Murder, Death, Sexual content, Violence, and Gun violence

Moderate: Slavery, Racism, Police brutality, Blood, Alcohol, Sexism, and Misogyny

Minor: Sexual assault, Torture, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Gore, Grief, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Child death, and Confinement

florecita_lectora's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Grief, Sexual content, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Colonisation

jessnotjen's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Death, Murder, War, Violence, Blood, Torture, Sexual content, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail

jackiepreston's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Murder, Violence, Blood, Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Torture and War

lauracollins096's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Sexual content, Cursing, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual violence, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Drug use, Gore, Colonisation, Death, and Infertility

amartin48's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.75

I honestly had more moments during this book than the first of being annoyed with characters and their poor life choices. It seemed messy and I felt Maas wrote the plot twists in this book rather predictably. 

That being said, I REALLY loved the world and lore expansion in this book. And I’m a huge fan of crossover series! This book left me satisfied with our FMC/MMC relationship, hopeful for new relationships, and SO excited to revisit old favorites. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Bullying, Trafficking, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Death, Infertility, Sexual harassment, Stalking, and War

kayanoelle's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

I love the characters and relationships but why is this so long😭 My biggest criticism is that a lot happened but nothing was actually relevant to the plot (what even is the plot in this series? I haven’t figured it out yet). The ending though🤯 (I already knew this was gonna happen ever since Sarah posted the bonus scenes for HOFAS on her instagram🤩🤩)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Torture, Murder, Violence, and Slavery

Minor: Gore and War

dana37's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, and Gore