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arielthereader's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
bhard07's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
mazzreads86's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
There is definitely some major content warnings that readers need to be aware of ahead of time, and I think that they are somewhat reflective of the time it was written (late 90's) - not to say that rape, sexual assualt, and paedophilia weren't a big deal at the time, but that writers weren't as aware of how problematic including those topics in their books could be.
I definitely wouldn't recommend this to anyone under 18 to read, and would make sure to warn anyone that there are some quite graphic descriptions included, I definitely skip over those sections when I reread.
Getting past all that, the basic story is really interesting and the characters are wonderful, especially as you move in to the next 2 books and beyond (one of my favourite characters is introduced in book 2 - kiss kiss!). I think that Jaenelle & Daemon's relationship is actually the least interesting/likeable, and is somewhat problematic, but the rest are fantastic.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide attempt
mlcutter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I have so much to say about this book. Some spoilers.
The good:
It's well written
The world building is phenomenal
The characters are fleshed out, even the evil ones
It is unique
The bad:
There are sooo many characters!
A child is badly abused and there is too much detail
There are sex slaves
Adults are badly abused and there is too much detail
There are so many just plain evil characters, it's hard to imagine anyone that awful and you wind up hoping that everyone is murdered in awful ways because they're so terrible.
The black jewel trilogy, which is now a whole series of books written by Anne Bishop, are HARD. TO. READ. These are not light, they're not easy, there is no comic relief. They're dark. DARK, with a capital D. The people who have magic are born to a jewel. Depending on a color, they can be powerful. Black jewel holders are the most powerful. The queens are powerful and terrible. They're jealous, petty, petulant, conniving, and willing to do whatever they have to do to hold power. There is a promise of a queen that will rule well, she will fix what is wrong. She is a child of 12 in this book. She is innocent and naive but the most powerful ever to be born. Everyone wants to either protect her or kill her or break her so she is unable to use her power. Because no one understands her, it is assumed she is unwell.
There is some fascinating imagery that makes me wonder if Anne Bishop struggles with mental illness. There are the "twisted lands" which we come to know as a place where the mind has been broken. She describes the mind as a chalice and once its broken, it has to be repaired before the person is whole again, but it is fragile.
I don't think abuse has to be spelled out. It's too hard to read. I think it was done better in the Shaye Archer series by Jana DeLeon. you get enough glimpses that you know Shaye has suffered, but you don't get the gory details.
All in all, I want to never read this book again. not sure I will continue the trilogy. I will stick to my favorite Bishop books The Others series, which is a unique take on shapeshifters and one of my favorite series ever.
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
helos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The books are very diffrent from what I usually read in the fantasy genre- darker,mature...
.
The writing style took me a while to get accustomed to because ot was written rather strangely. The interesting thing here ist that the story is told from the 3rd person but the f3male protagonist ( who is the center of the books) never has a chapter where we can see from her perspective. It is always told / seen by a bystander ( the male protagonists). I've never read a book where the main protagonist is not the primary pov.
It is a rathe cruel and dark worldbuilding while being very intricate.
There is a lot of suspense in the books bit not much excitement while reading them, they gave me a calm dark vibe .
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Torture
ratproofed's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
tectonixduchess's review against another edition
Graphic: Death, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Slavery
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Body shaming, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, and Alcohol
jj7twin's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Kidnapping
book_rascal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Horriblesolaceinprose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, and Violence