Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim

12 reviews

oh_neens's review

dark emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Rape, Sexism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Violence, War, Terminal illness, Misogyny, Grief, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Alcohol, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia

ceedy's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Violence, War, Murder, Rape, and Torture

Moderate: Colonisation, Classism, Blood, and Cursing

rieviolet's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad 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

3.0

The historical context was the most interesting aspect of the novel for me.  
I did not feel particularly connected to the characters and that made it difficult to be really invested in their storylines (even more so their romantic plots). I actually liked the portrayal of some of the side characters (Luna and Lee Myung-bo for example) much more than the two main ones. 

The writing style wasn't bad but it never particularly struck me. The constantly switching POV was a bit frustrating, especially because we got a lot of scenes from characters that I did not care one bit about as a narrator and many other more interesting perspectives were barely explored.

Overall, I was never really completely absorbed in the narration. The ending was quite bleak but I guess it is quite realistic in showing how the more opportunistic people are the ones that will get ahead in life and never get their comeuppance. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Police brutality, War, Violence, Death, Mass/school shootings, Genocide, Sexual content, and Rape

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Confinement, Addiction, Abortion, Sexism, Racial slurs, Murder, Torture, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, and Infidelity

Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Ableism, Cursing, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Infertility

tomoonarmy's review

adventurous dark informative reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War and Sexism

Minor: Death of parent, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Gun violence, Colonisation, Classism, Sexual assault, Murder, Misogyny, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Rape, Police brutality, Grief, Addiction, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, and Alcohol

baileeamorette's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Rape, Murder, War, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Colonisation, and Physical abuse

doodeedoda's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Drug use, Infidelity, and Suicide

jenpurlteach's review

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War and Sexual content

Minor: Abortion, Drug use, Infidelity, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Animal death, Colonisation, Rape, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, and War

angelaaaa's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense slow-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

4.5

Great. Crying. Ugh. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Sexual assault, Death, Rape, Death of parent, Sexual violence, War, Xenophobia, and Confinement

Moderate: Terminal illness, Addiction, Gun violence, Infidelity, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, and Suicide

Minor: Infertility

macknificent's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, War, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Addiction, Classism, Drug abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Police brutality, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal death, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Violence

kamin8882's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

"Life is only bearable because time makes you forget everything. But life is worthwhile because love makes you remember everything." 

WOW!! I really don't know where to start with this beautiful story. Juhea Kim starts with an act of selfishness when a Korean hunter saves the life of a Japanese general from a tiger in the snowy forest of Korea. This starts a chain of events that will effect the characters in the rest of the story over half a century. I was blown away with the flow and ease of which the many characters were introduced and woven together throughout the book so beautifully. Even characters with a small role were vital to the story. That being said, there were ALOT of characters to keep track of (I had to keep notes) but they all come together in a way that worked perfectly. I love how by the time you get to the end, everything breath taken and action performed by any character falls perfectly into place and makes the story whole. Beautifully written.  

Jade was definitely the star of the show. From a young age, she was forced to just endure-- being sold at the age of 10, to be trained and performing at a courtesan by the age of 15, falling in love, getting her heartbroken, seeing people she loved die, become ill, or suffer in any way. Throughout all of this, she still maintained her optimistic view of life, the love in her heart, and her morals and values. She was loyal to those she loved and made sure everyone was taken care of no matter what. I really loved her so much, she was definitely an example of a strong female character you would want in your corner.  

I was also very intrigued and excited to learn about Korean culture. This is not a time period or culture I am family with at all so learning about it was very amazing. I can't wait to read more books like this and definitely  more from Juhea Kim. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Rape, Pregnancy, War, and Violence

Minor: Addiction