Reviews tagging 'Cultural appropriation'

Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb

5 reviews

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

This had a little bit of everything for me, and I loved the ending. I’m always rooting for the underdog, so for me, while the historical events were awful, I loved how Josephine got all that she wanted, even if that wasn’t how she wanted to get it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Death, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Violence, Torture, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Drug use, and Mental illness

spuriousdiphthongs's review

challenging mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, Racism, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Death, Cursing, and Cultural appropriation

scmiller's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Cultural appropriation, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcohol, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Murder, Sexism, Death, and Violence

Minor: Drug abuse, Addiction, Drug use, Classism, and Suicide

znvisser's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Sometimes I read a premise that I am so intrigued by, I am fairly certain I am going to love the book - so once the writing doesn’t disappoint my tastes in early chapters, I know I’m in for a great ride. Symphony of Secrets definitely delivered for me, but eesh this book stressed me out and raised my heart rate at times. Fred Delaney is a completely terrible character and despite my annoyance I couldn’t stop reading. Every time he says “swell” I was reminded of Mad Men’s Pete Campbell so well, that’s the vibe, but then more successfully evil. In this story Delaney is introduced to this brilliant woman, Josephine, and exploits her labour in any way he can while claiming it is actually she who benefits from their arrangement. This goes from very bad to even worse. Delaney himself is however so utterly unworthy of any praise or fame for his musicality, that he is not even able to hear the differences between his composed and stolen work, remaining completely stunned every time he disappoints just any mediocre critic or musician around him. And unfortunately as time goes on he grows unsurprisingly more obnoxious. 

For all the things I loved about this book - the premise and plot, the two timelines and of course Josephine and her mind and experiencing music with her - there were two smaller things I didn’t love: the pacing (Bern and Eboni take so much time to unravel small bits of history, then they are on the run and there is no one they can EVER ask for help, and then suddenly

they got all details right and are lawyered up?!

) and the romantic angle (the tension was understandable but the writing once it happens  was cringe and it didn’t really add much to it all). However, luckily neither really affected my love for this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Racism, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Cultural appropriation, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Confinement, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Sexism, Alcohol, and Death

grubrednuf's review

adventurous emotional inspiring fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Racism, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement, Murder, and Ableism

Minor: Cultural appropriation