Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

To Cage a God by Elizabeth May

4 reviews

hailstorm3812's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoy a lot of the elements of this even if it wasn't the most well written thing I've ever read. We have dragons, sisters, sapphics, a charming thief, revolution. It definitely has some meandering and simplicity to the writing style but it's also so fun and interesting that you can get past it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Ableism, Death, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: War, Sexism, Police brutality, Child abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Religious bigotry

booksalacarte's review

adventurous challenging dark reflective 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

2.75

To cage a god- 2.75⭐️ 3.5🌶️

Adult fantasy

Sapphic

30yo characters

Multi POV 

Morally grey characters

Hidden identity

Dragons

Mythical beasts

Russian influence

Revolution

Alcoholism rep

Ptsd rep

Chronic illness/disability rep

Tw: self harm/cutting, suicide, murder, gore, death, emotional abuse, alcoholism, eugenics

I love the premise of this story! Commoners have unwilling dragon gods caged inside of them, something reserved for royalty, for a rebellion. 

The entry into this story was abrupt, making it hard to connect to the main characters because we were dropped into the very middle of most of the character’s stories. but I just found it hard to feel caught up. I even was a kid fascinated by the Russian Revolution and the last tzar of Russia… and so much of the plot mirrored those true events. 

The characters were flushed out well, for the most part. And the banter was good.

I found the magic system to be really interesting in how different magic manifested depending on which dragon god was caught.

The pacing wasn’t great, with the abrupt and slow start and rushed ending. 

The spicy scenes didn’t feel as natural as I prefer. The timing of these scene was really NOT great.

Thank You Netgalley and DAW Books for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Violence, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Addiction, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, War, Classism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Alcoholism, Blood, Gore, Alcohol, Outing, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Ableism

gen_wolfhailstorm's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

Thank you to Black Crow PR and Daphne Press for sending me a hardback copy for the book tour. All opinions remain 100% genuine.

I absolutely, whole heartedly adored this novel immensely. 

May's writing in this is absolutely exquisite! I hadn't realised I had read another book by her. It was a duo author book, called Seven Devils and it was just okay to me (I think I would enjoy it more now having loved more sci fi recently), but I couldn't help but note that the contrast to her current fantasy writing is just so sharp. She definitely won me around in this beautifully rebellious novel.

The multi pov was rich and diverse, the characters so dimensional & I loved to love them & (even better imo) loved to 𝕝𝕠𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖 them! Isadora was a particular favourite villain and I felt so swoony over Vitaly's criminal charm and Vasilia's ice cold, carefully crafted emotions.

The atmosphere & landscape demonstrated in To Cage a God was so vivid and descriptive, that I felt like I had been transported there. Every time I picked it back up, I felt like I was flying through the pages. The story was just so moreish.

The cultures, queer representation and themes of oppression and rebellion and the overal overthrowing of a corrupt hieracy felt so prevalent and empowering. 

The tantalising & forbidden romance that Galina was battling through was a particular favourite character/relationship development. It was so addictive and made me all giddy and excitable for it all! The spice in this was unexpected. May did not shy away from those scenes and they were so good.

Another favourite character/relationship development was the sisterly bond between Galina and Sera. This relationship was beautiful to read and felt so fraught with shared trauma and experience. The love that bound them together was amazing.

There's so many different types of relationships in this story, that links the multiple perspectives, and I was appreciative of how complex and realistic each relationship felt. They were all necessary to the building of individual characters as well as carrying the story through and creating drive, ambition and bond between characters. It also strengthened my attachment to the book as a reader as I had to know what would happen to everyone.

Then there's the magic - it's so unique! Literally caging these dragon-like gods in the vessel of a human body and the price one pays for that? Ugh, absolutely fantastic. I loved the magic system and the study of the potions and medicines that Sera and Vasilia conducted, respectfully. Some of the godpower felt a bit overpowered but to explore that, I would love to learn even more about the gods and their dimension, what they can do and what their limits are. Does this become weaker once their bonded to a mortal? More of the lore from their perspective would be awesome. 

Overall, I loved every moment of this book. I can't wait for the sequel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Body horror, Bullying, Self harm, Slavery, War, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Violence, Grief, Gaslighting, Police brutality, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Medical content, and Physical abuse

devynreadsnovels's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Physical abuse, Torture, Classism, Drug use, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, War, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Ableism, Abandonment, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol