Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

3 reviews

alexalily's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Death, Slavery, Xenophobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Trafficking, and Violence

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Stalking, Gaslighting, Torture, Child abuse, and Medical content

booksalacarte's review

challenging dark mysterious tense 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? No

4.25

The bone shard daughter - 4.25⭐️ 1🌶️

The emperor's reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire's many islands.

Lin is the emperor's daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.

Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright - and save her people.

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✨My Opinion✨

This was a wonderfully woven beginning to such a unique story. The opening line pulled me right in and the characters strange and compelling stories kept me reading. 

The story follows 4 POV’s, each voice completely unique. There was so much world bulding done in a beautiful way. You see the magic through Lin, the emperors daughter trying to earn the magic her father keeps hidden behind locked doors, and Jovis, a smuggler who experienced one of the islands sinking into the sea and his companion pet Mochi.

The tone of the empire is flushed out through Phalue, a governor's daughter who is trying to balance duty and her relationship with the woman she loves. And the empires dark secrets are given a backgrand with Sandu, a woman on an island with no faint memories of her life coming to light. 

The characters get caught up in the different themes: morality, humanty, classism, grief, power, identity, complicated relationships, Love, trust, treason. 

My biggest draw to the story is the relationship between Jovis and Mochi. So much is unknown, even to them, what is going on. I can’t wait to see it play out. Jovis’ POV Definitly got me through the heaviest world building.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and War

lucystolethesky's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Grief, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Violence, Classism, Confinement, Murder, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, and Trafficking

Minor: Violence, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Incest, and Grief