Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - Une fenêtre sur les ténèbres

Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Une fenêtre sur les ténèbres by Benjamin Peylet, Rachel Gillig

23 reviews

rchulin1's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad 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

4.0

A very interesting fantasy book different from a lot of other books I read in the genre has some gothic themes

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katharina90's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

Interesting premise and worldbuilding. Loved the dark misty magical forest vibes. Vengeful Spirit of the Woods? Salty magic? Yes, please!

Everything else was a little underwhelming (plot, characters, writing) but it was an entertaining read.

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aidamaria_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I’m sorry to say this book/duology is overhyped. Things that annoyed me greatly were, among others, Elspeth’s entire personality (is she dumb or is she in denial - I’m not sure which is worse), the mention of the love interest’s title and eye colour the entire time (we get it, readers aren’t stupid) and the not so great writing. If you shake this book, you can hear the clichés jingling against one another.

However, I did like the eerie, gothic vibe and the magic system, and I’m delulu enough to believe the comic relief character/trustworthy sidekick will get more of the spotlight in the second instalment. Manifesting a love interest for him, because I choose to believe he’d be less insufferable if/when he falls in love.

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jalexpulliamkepler's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

a good time with a great ending. Can’t wait to read the next one!

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kiwi_of_serenity's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

4.75

I was prepared to give a five star review, but the quality fell apart a bit in Part 2. I adore the world— the Providence Card concept alone is so strong, but then there’s a detailed story and quasi-religious system surrounding the woods, the first king, and magic infections. It’s so fascinating. And that’s without even getting into Elspeth and her compelling relationship with the Nightmare, which is really strong and complex. One of my favorite things about this book is the excerpts from the Old Book of Alders, and the fact that the Nightmare quotes the Book and sometimes makes up his own rhymes. It does a good job if making him mysterious and inaccessible, but not in a pointless way— like he’s clinging on to old memories or incapable of speaking without some riddling. In the second half, I felt that the story leaned more on tropes, or at least felt a little tried. I enjoyed the romance greatly until they actually got together, and then it felt kind of annoying— they were constantly whispering to each other and kissing at inopportune moments, and I just wanted the plot to keep advancing. But I shipped them pretty well overall and I do think their relationship developed the themes of the book— body vs mind, resisting a broken system, etc. Overall, a Really Good Book, and I will be reading the aecond book asap.

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kenzibir's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

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chanlo1994's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

What a refreshing read.

I'm so glad the author avoided very classic tropes, such as "you lied to me, and now that I know your deep dark secret, you're dead to me ".

Concepts such as understanding and forgiveness within a relationship makes this an enjoyable read, especially with the world building and magic system used. And Raven makes me swoon.... lol

I also really liked the different examples on the theme of consent, as most of them are not related to sex. Body autonomy, yes absolutely, but not sex. It examplifies that sex is not the only time where consent is needed.

Also, the writing is so beautiful??? Both the poetry and the narration. It's why I gave it a full 5 stars.

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kai256's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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bethann_coleates's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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barbarianmissy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

4.5⭐️

K this book was a solid 4 stars for me until the last 50 pages BECAUSE THAT ENDING (WOWZA!) easily bumped it up to 4.5. I love it when authors aren’t afraid of switching up the dynamics of the characters.

The reason it wasn’t a solid 5 stars is cause I felt the romance plot was a little rushed. I didn’t dislike it, but at the same time it was a smidge forced in my opinion. Needed a little more banter and build up rather than just obviously already secretly being in love with each other pretty much the whole time. Like even when he has a right to be mad at her for her keeping a rather big secret from him, he forgives her almost immediately before he’s even upset. There’s no fight for it. Idk, it was just too easy!!!

But I kind of liked that the romance wasn’t the main focus of the book, there was way more important shit to focus on.

As for stand out characters, man, I love “the Nightmare”. He’s just a crazy lil guy who loves word play. Go off, king! What an icon. Excited for more from this lil psychopath.

Also, I truly love Elm. Why did Elm and Elspeth have more chemistry than her and Ravyn? Like, I felt like they even had more scenes together?! Ravyn trusted and loved her from the start, so I felt like the relationship didn’t build, BUT Elm is super wary of her and RIGHTFULLY SO and they have a fun bantery dynamic! IDK, I FEEL LIKE THERES POTENTIAL THERE. NO? JUST ME?! ok whatever. Anyways. Loved him. He’s great.

Ione, I’m interested in seeing more from her. I feel like she’s a part of some grand sub plot. Excited for her potential.

In conclusion… The world building, magic system, overall badassery and concept of this book is outstanding. It was so friggin cool. Loved it. If the author took a smidge more time building the relationships between the characters it would’ve been an easy 5 stars for me.

Excited for BOOK 2! LETS GO GIRLS!

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