Reviews tagging 'Blood'

This One Sky Day by Leone Ross

4 reviews

theinkwyrm's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

Honestly kind of disappointed because I’d expected to love this but I really just didn’t. This had some elements that I really loved (the cors, the pum-pums, the food, the overall lore and vibe of Popisho), but that didn’t really make up for the things I didn’t like. This book was just too long and could have used some editing. It’s so long and the narrative meanders so much that it’s really easy to forget that the main plot line is taking place over the course of a day. I can understand that it meanders so much because Ross is having to lay the groundwork so the reader can understand what’s been leading up to the events of this day, but it really needed some tightening up because the pace absolutely crawled. Also, I like magical realism, but not when it gets so magical that it loses the realism like it did in this book. It’s just not quite the right fit for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Alcohol

Minor: Blood, Death, and Homophobia

faithe's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Body horror, Death, Medical content, Animal death, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Pregnancy, Sexism, Suicide, Homophobia, Infertility, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Mental illness, Self harm, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, and Religious bigotry

kayesomething's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Addiction, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual content, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Blood, Death, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Body horror, and Infidelity

Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, and Misogyny

hollyd19's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

Reading Popisho felt like a tripping headfirst into an adult version of The Phantom Tollbooth set to a soundtrack of "For The Benefit of Mr. Kite."

Set in a fictional Caribbean archipelago called Popisho, this delightful and kaleidoscopic book takes place over the course of a day and follows a chorus of magical characters as the impending wedding of the Governor’s daughter approaches. At the center of it all is Xavier Redchoose, the macaenus (a role appointed-by-the-gods to prepare a meal for every Popisho resident over his tenure). 

This was easily one of the most creative books I’ve ever read. Everyone in Popisho is born with “cors,” another word for some sort of magical endowment. But not in a predictable witchcraft/sorcery way. Cors are as varied as people; some people have extremely long limbs, others can detect when you lie, others can change the colors of random objects. Author Leone Ross also committed impressively to world-building. There were so many invented words that I gave up on looking up definitions and just leaned in to the disorientation. And every plot turn felt completely original and entrancingly chaotic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Drug use

Moderate: Blood, Death, Grief, Miscarriage, Infertility, and Infidelity

Minor: Suicide, Child death, Colonisation, Sexism, and Pregnancy