Reviews with content warning for Gore - Die Schwarze Königin

Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Die Schwarze Königin by Christina Henry

6 reviews

gaylic's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

While this wasn’t quite as hooking as the first book, it was an amazing expansion to Alice’s journey. I enjoyed seeing her grow and learn how to be on her own, becoming her own kind of Magician, and the side characters felt stronger than they did in the last story.

The twists were predictable and at times the writing was more confusing due to the dreamy quality she was going for, to the point where I had to reread pages to figure out what was going on. However, it felt more Alice-like in that way and there was lots of delightful nightmare imagery that could be used because of the change in style.

I missed Hatcher, though, and the story does lack something without him present. I think of he’d been a stronger presence in the story, it would have felt like a 5 instead of a 4. But definitely recommend reading if you are a fan of Alice’s story.

Content Warnings

applesodaperson's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad 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

4.25

Omg I loved this book just as much as I liked the first one! These books are just so well done and very entertaining. But they also do not pull any punches when it comes to the dark and disturbing content. Like these are truly dark fairytale/story retellings.

I was absolutely gutted when I found out that the rabbit and the ex-prostitute girls from the first book all died without ever making it to safety. Seriously so sad.

But yeah in this one, the plot is that Alice and Hatch set out of the old city to find Hatcher's daughter, but very quickly get sidetracked.

And I was just thinking that the daughter plot was just going to be pushed to the next book, so I was very shocked when it was revealed that she was the white queen. I also liked that they changed the white queen to be the evil one, when usually the red queen is. But yeah she definitely deserved to die because of all the horrific things she did to the children.

But yeah again, I liked all the side characters, and that there were some Alice could trust, but also some that kept the reader guessing their true intentions.
I also liked that

Hatcher wasn't in most of the book. Which I get why some people wouldn't like it. But to me the first book was about Alice and Hatch remembering their pasts and taking back their power from their abusers. But this book was about Alice finding out who she wants to be now, and learning how to use her magic. It was about self-discovery. And I like that Hatch, but I think him being there would have prevented Alice from doing that self-discovery. So I do like Hatcher, but I think him being gone was needed for Alice to progress.

Anyways, I also liked how this book kept the whimsical and vague setting like the first one. It just feels so charming and well done. Yeah I love these books and can't wait to read the third book.
Listened to on Libby.

Content Warnings