Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

15 reviews

devynreadsnovels's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, War, Sexism, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Death, Confinement, Violence, Classism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, and Misogyny

o_romeo's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Death, Abandonment, and Infertility

Minor: Medical trauma, War, Xenophobia, Infidelity, Fatphobia, Violence, and Sexual content

taylor15809's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment

litoreads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

This book is gorgeously written, well-paced, and it deserves the highest praise possible. I cannot believe I was so lucky for this to be my first read of 2024. The bar has been set ridiculously high in terms of ratings.

The story follows a cleric who is listening to an older woman named Rabbit's story about the Empress of Salt and Fortune, In-yo. We learn that Rabbit and In-yo had a beautiful human relationship one can only describe as non-romantic soul mates. They would do anything for each other while maintaining public appearances as royalty and handmaiden.

No spoilers, but the ending truly shows the level of this friendship and how beautiful human connection can be. This novella is short and perfect. If I can finish it in a couple of hours, so can you, and you ABSOLUTELY should.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism

Moderate: Misogyny and Body shaming

Minor: Sexual content, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

indeedithappens's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Infidelity, Suicide, Abandonment, Infertility, Violence, Classism, Death, Grief, Pregnancy, War, Colonisation, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Murder

pm_me_book_recs's review

adventurous emotional reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

4.0

After finishing this novella I promptly added the rest of Nghi Vo's works to my tbr.

I'm not sure how such a detailed world and history fit into this novella, I was not expecting it! The characters are varied and lovable, the pace is steady, the story development is delicately laid out to show each side and progression of the Empress. The end is righteous. I loved Chih's curiosity and cleverness, Almost Brilliant's snark, and Rabbit's mischief, and, just, everything about the Empress. 

Queer and Non-Binary friendly, feminist, and fantastical. I cannot wait to read the rest. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Genocide, Pregnancy, Confinement, Misogyny, Grief, and War

thereadinghammock's review against another edition

mysterious reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

3.0

So much of this book just, sort of, happens around you (as a reader), that it's not until, maybe the last 30 minutes of the book that I had any idea what was actually going on. The world is fascinating, but the delivery is too prosaic for me. It's beautifully written, stunning prose, and I love the respect for archival history threaded throughout the book; but it's simply a case of just not the writing for me--and that's OK!!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, Grief, Pregnancy, and Sexism

Minor: Infidelity and Colonisation

rai's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

The story of this novel is hidden in the reflections of a cleric and old servant. It makes the story telling a little more dramatic and the length of the novel is over so quickly as a result.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and War

jjjreads's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, Grief, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death of parent, Murder, Trafficking, Classism, and Slavery

Moderate: Body shaming, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

Minor: War and Violence

tinyelfarcanist's review against another edition

inspiring mysterious relaxing slow-paced

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

4.5

This is, undoubtedly, a feminist tale.

There is a story on the books, of the emperor of Anh coming to In-Yo in a dream and pressing a seed into her belly. It is the story that the people of Anh like a great deal, about the great virility of their rulers and how they reach out in their sleep or in death, and it isn't as if the history books aren't full of such things.

In such a short format, the author packs a fleshed-out world you want to delve into. Passing characters leave a mark and the story being told from the past is even more engaging than the present.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Slavery, Kidnapping, War, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Racism, Violence, and Sexual content

Minor: Infidelity