Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Soulstar by C.L. Polk

2 reviews

novella42's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

My favorite of the Kingston Cycle! This book picked up momentum and was the most exciting and satisfying of the three for me.

I feel like CL Polk wrote the other books in order to get to the story she really wanted to tell: the revolution. I think that's where Polk's heart has been this whole time, and while they want their characters to be well-rounded, while they want to balance mystery with romance, at the core their story focuses on what it takes for people to transform a nation and reckon with the ghosts of their past. I think the mystery and romance aspects of the story aren't as well-rounded as they could be sometimes, but the elements that she did include felt good and real to me. (I'm taking away a half star for that, partly because I kept coming out of the story when I expected Robin to orient herself towards her love interest and she just... sort of dissociated right back into the work she had to do. It was understandable, and it was addressed in the book with a delightful example of healthy communication, and... I guess I should redirect my frustration at the book cover since it builds expectations for a romance when it's more of a political urban fantasy with some romantic elements.) As I said, the mystery and romance elements were good when they took center stage, it's just that these were eclipsed by the greater love story of revolution—the work we do for people we care about because we want a more just world for them. 

This might be a bit of a tangent, but I feel like the progression of this series, particularly the last two books, would be especially satisfying for an Enneagram 1. Or for any person who cares very deeply about what it means to be a good person, and how we all struggle with right and wrong, and the story of convincing others and making an imperfect world a better place for us all.

(Also, hooray, respectful representation for BIPOC, queer, gender non-conforming, and polyamorous characters!)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Medical content, Medical trauma, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Death, Deportation, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Classism, and Trafficking

Moderate: Murder, Kidnapping, Grief, Chronic illness, Suicide, Genocide, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Homophobia

Minor: Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual assault, War, Blood, and Alcohol

There was no antisemitism or ableism in this book, but if you struggle with themes related to the Holocaust or the forced institutionalization of people with disabilities...

the scenes liberating the witches from the asylums and recovering from those horrors are very similar to the Holocaust. I think the forced institutionalization of people with disabilities also comes to the forefront with fact that these were depicted as asylums, and the difficulties survivors had reintegrating into the community. Very well done. And worth their own content warnings.

purplepenning's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Police brutality, Violence, Classism, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, and Outing

Moderate: Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Cancer, Gaslighting, Genocide, Biphobia, Medical content, Child abuse, Homophobia, Trafficking, and Kidnapping

Minor: Animal death, Alcohol, Pregnancy, and Rape