Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

Celui qui noya le monde by Shelley Parker-Chan

54 reviews

beandream's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm

Moderate: War, Vomit, Grief, and Sexual content

Minor: Body shaming, Miscarriage, Dysphoria, Abortion, and Death

percys_panda_pillow_pet's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

4.5

Shelley Parker-Chan has really knocked it out of the park this time. For anyone who was worried the sequel to She Who Became the Sun wouldn't be as good, or even those who were maybe not as impressed with the first book, I think you will be amazed at He Who Drowned the World. 

The book has a bit of a slow start admittedly. It's tough to follow up the ending of the first book and the crazy choices the characters made. But give it a little bit of time to get reinvested in the world and characters and you'll find that Parker-Chan did an incredible job of building off of where she left off. There are more POVs than before, but I didn't mind the inclusions at all. In fact, this book made me truly appreciate Ouyang's character and his downward spiral. All of the different narrators gave such depth to the main themes of loss, ambition, and what it means to be yourself. 

We see all these become more and more hyperfocused on their "fates", losing themselves and who they used to be in the process. In some ways, their fervent pursuit of the future is just an extension of their fixation on the past that they can't let go. I was fascinated and horrified with the choices these characters made, that simultaneously a character can be cruel and yet undeserving of the cruelty thrust upon them. Madam Zhang, General Ouyang, Wang Baoxiang, and even our original main character, Zhu Yuanzhang all suffer from the same oppressive forces in society and fight back in their own ways, but more often than not end up working with the society that hurt them as they try to defy it. 

If you enjoy character deconstructions, character's descent into self-destruction, and examining the way that a society can hurt different people in the same way, for not belonging or acting within the expectations thrust upon them, this is the book for you.

I also just have to add that my favorite parts were when Ouyang and Zhu interacted, they ended up accidentally being a hilarious comedy duo that really lightened the darker mood of the book haha.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Violence, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Rape, Murder, Sexism, War, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Self harm

Moderate: Body horror, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Transphobia, Vomit, Torture, Outing, Xenophobia, and Slavery

sovner736's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Death, and Homophobia

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Rape

Minor: Miscarriage

sarasreading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.0

This was very good, though not as compelling to me as the first book, possibly because the focus is only partly on Zhu. 

It was also so brutal. Whoooo. Definitely be aware of the trigger warnings. There are so, so many. I don't have a strong stomach and I made it, but I was prepared for this one to be more violent. 

Still, I flew through this beast in like 2.5 days, and there were several moments where I literally gasped out loud. It was a wild ride, you guys. The ending was also pretty satisfying. 

I can see myself reading first book again, but the sheer amount of gruesome suffering in this one probably won't compell me to pick it up again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Body shaming, Child death, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, War, and Grief

Moderate: Colonisation, Classism, and Miscarriage

Minor: Slavery

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, War, Grief, Confinement, Torture, Misogyny, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Self harm, and Sexism

Moderate: Death of parent, Infidelity, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual content, Medical content, Child death, Sexual assault, Dysphoria, Xenophobia, Transphobia, Animal cruelty, and Slavery

Minor: Suicide, Miscarriage, Abortion, Incest, and Vomit

winterwoodbooks's review against another edition

3.75

So much better than the first book!
Much more gory tho

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Deadnaming, Body horror, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Grief, Death, Transphobia, Violence, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Genocide, War, Torture, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Misogyny, Hate crime, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Child death, and Body shaming

theresahasread's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Homophobia

Minor: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Torture

atlastheninth's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense 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? Yes

5.0

When you know that someone is going to die and there really aren't that many who can die (story wise), and you keep thinking that, hey, maybe they actually won’t die, but then they do, because of course they do, but it still hurts? Yeah, that. I'm in pain. 

 

But god, that was so good! It's been a bit since I've read She Who Became the Sun, but I loved how this book was much more focused on the characters and the character development than the first one (or at least I felt like it was). 

Somehow Parker-Chan managed that I actually care about all of the main characters, even though all of them are absolute dickheads. 

 

And Zhu learning kindness and learning empathy and acknowledging all the unnecessary deaths and is it really worth it? That was so good!! 

 

I devoured this book, I did not want to put it down! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Self harm, Sexual content, Misogyny, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Body shaming, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Miscarriage, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

nomonbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring tense 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

5.0

 Very cleverly written. Enthralling. A perfect continuation of the story of Zhu and all of the other beautifully queer and/or violent people we follow. I didn’t like everyone, but I understood them, at times better than they understood themselves. That automatically springs compassion for almost everyone. Such a wonderful portrayal of going down the path of no return, of outwardly being evil with no redemption but having an insight into that as a reader that allows comprehension and empathy. Every event is believable, and everything is crafted so well even in the final pages, which are perfectly paced. I usually try and look for a negative but this book was everything I could have wanted.

Before reading, I thought maybe watching Zhu triumph and their buoyant nature would get boring in this book but the character growth and strength of plot meant that, it was nowhere near an option. I loved the first one and I'm so glad this one didn't dissapoint. 

Though generally, it is very dark, so be prepared. There are a sea of content warnings. Generally handled pretty well but the self-harm and assisted self-harm is quite intense.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Slavery, Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Death, Dysphoria, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Transphobia, War, Ableism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Abortion and Kidnapping

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Infertility, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Vomit, and Abandonment

pages_of_emma's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense 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

5.0

 What a book. I had very high hopes for this book after loving 'She Who Became The Sun' so much and it did not disappoint! It is breathtaking in its pace and its ability to tear at your heart from the very first page as we drop right back in to the battle for the title of Great Khan.

We have characters we love (hate? love to hate?) returning and some new perspectives too. I loved how we got to see Zhu and Ouyang together in this one – their complex and charged connection is everything I wanted it to be. Other character highlights were Ma (oh Ma) and Madam Zhang. I loved how, despite these women not being ‘allowed’ to have power like the men, they wielded what they did have in clever ways.

I also knew that Ouyang would break my heart but I did not expect how it happened. I am not one to cry at books at all, but I definitely felt my eyes prickle!
And Wang Baoxiang… goodness me. If you think someone is nasty, put him next to them and they’ll probably look like an angel.
The thing about all these characters and the way Shelley has written them though, is that even though you know they are all terrible people, you cannot help but be sucked in to their machinations. You need to keep reading, to follow them on their journeys because they are so compelling. 

Shelley Parker-Chan’s prose is, as it was in the first book, outstanding. It’s brutal, lush and textured and I drank it all up. 
As with the first book we have the exploration of gender and the breaking of gender norms at the heart of the tale. In a world where being other than male or female can bring shame and even death, it was fantastic to witness characters blazing their own paths while defying these rules. 

This story is dark and heavy all of the time, the pain and sufferings of the characters unrelenting as we move through the pages. They all strive to be great, and all have to face the consequences of that quest. There is so much plotting, more betrayal and many twists and turns all bringing these character threads to a truly epic conclusion.

The Radiant Emperor Duology is nothing short of a masterpiece, and it will sit on my favourites shelf forever.

Content warnings galore for this one – please check them!
Huge thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an e-arc of this book in exchange for review. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Self harm, Ableism, Grief, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child death and Miscarriage