Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Ashes by Iona Wayland

3 reviews

bree_h_reads's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

It took me FOREVER to finish this book, but that was more due to my sporadic reading than any fault of the book. Overall Ashes was extremely enjoyable and tackled a lot of really interesting and dark themes.

I felt like Angela was a really interesting, compelling character with complex struggles. Every character felt so realistic and alive, it was easy to get attached to them and want to learn more. The realness of the characters also helped raised the tension when they were in danger (which was often.)

The descriptions were clear and painted both beautiful and haunting pictures of the things within the story. It set such a clear tone for scenes and helped build tension effectively. The descriptions really helped the books atmosphere and followed Angela’s arc very well.

Every twist felt well built too as well. I especially liked the out of order flow of information. It helped tell the story while explaining more about the characters, overall a really great choice.

My only issue was the romance in the book feeling a bit rushed, but that wasn’t a huge hindrance on enjoyment.

Great book, I definitely recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Rape

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Addiction, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Blood

Minor: Homophobia, Medical content, Abandonment, and Suicide

nixkelley's review

challenging dark emotional sad 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Addiction, Blood, Death, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, and Suicide

wanderonwards's review

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

4.0

Ashes is a dark, emotional journey dealing with trauma and grief set against the backdrop of a magical and fantastical forest with horror elements. It’s compulsively readable: the story immediately grabbed my attention and I ended up finishing it in one day. Even though this story handles heavy subjects, it does so in an informed and compassionate way. Parts of the story were on the edge of too graphic for my tastes, but overall this is a stunning debut and I look forward to watching this author’s career progress.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Blood and Homophobia