Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah

5 reviews

garrettcz's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Murder, Death of parent, Bullying, Slavery, and Torture

Minor: Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, and Torture

dalek_caan's review

adventurous mysterious 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

4.75

I really enjoyed this book. It was unpredictable, imaginative and very well told. I found myself very engaged with most of the characters and enjoyed how each of the characters in the split perspective narrative had their own distinct voice. I would definitely recommend this book and anxiously await the publication of the sequel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, War, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Self harm, and Violence

Minor: Abandonment and Fire/Fire injury

cookiecat73's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book wasn't 100% my thing, but I have incredible respect for the author. The world and magic was cool and interesting, and character development was really well written, but it was the plot that blew me away. The twist were really well done and way they tied everything together was brilliant. It also gave you all the pieces you needed to figure things out for yourself (and it was incredibly satisfying when I did) whilst also providing explanations for anyone who didn't figure it out yet, but in a way that wasn't beating you over the head with it or talking down to the reader, it just felt like the characters figuring it out themselves.

Personally I had no real interest in the romance/crush aspects, and some of the torture/violence was a bit much imo, but my biggest issue was the fake-out deaths. If it was just Aisha's I wouldn't have much of an issue because there were still consequences, but Mazen and Qadir's I don't think serve any real purpose, and they made threat later on feel hollow for me. In general there are a lot of times where people sustain what should be serious injuries, but then they just recover? It made me feel like the characters would just be fine whatever happened, which made any times where there was meant to be danger and threat feel less meaningful and more hollow. Thankfully the plot and twists were really really interesting and well done, so I still was invested in the book, but I think if maybe those 2 deaths weren't there and some of the injuries either didn't happen or had more consequences I would have enjoyed it more

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Self harm, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity

Minor: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual content

beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense 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? No

3.0

Chelsea Abdullah had some good ideas here, but in the end, this novel left me slightly confused and underwhelmed.

First, to the good stuff. I liked how Abdullah intertwined the best-known Arabian Nights stories into her tale, incorporating

Scheherezade, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and I'm sure there were many more stories woven in that I was unfamiliar with

. The first hundred pages or so The Stardust Thief are snappy and pacy in style, and I was thinking "oh, this is going to be a cracking good story."

It wasn't long after our narrators - Loulie, Mazen and Aisha (as well as Qadir) - set out on their journey (not a spoiler as it's in the official blurb) that I started to get confused. It was still incredibly gripping to read - but I was no longer as invested as I was in the beginning.

So what went wrong? For me, it was a number of things. A few plot holes which I couldn't rationalise to myself.  Too many convenient escapes where someone or something turned up at just the right moment. The characters felt too thin and weren't developed enough to make me care about them. I was confused about jinn lore and exactly how the magic worked. And I think it was too long, with twist upon twist until it became impossible to keep track of who knew what and when.

In conclusion, a strong start and some clever ideas, but the worldbuilding and character development left a lot to be desired.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Murder, Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm

Minor: Pregnancy

Many murders and violence occur through magical means.

bookishflower's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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

“I am Loulie al-Nazari, the Midnight Merchant, and I am the master of my own fate.”

I wouldn’t have picked this up if it hadn’t have been in the Fairyloot May box, but I’m so glad I did! I tend to be intimidated by adult high fantasy, but this was easy to read, had beautiful and witty writing, with nuanced characters you can root for. I think this would be a great entry to adult fantasy books if anyone was looking for one. 

I adored the importance of storytelling, and the ambiguity of good and evil in this book. I also loved Qadir, Loulie, Mazen and Aisha. I hope we get to see their found family develop more and explore more of the world building as the series continues! I will definitely be continuing with this series! This book took me back to my love of stories and a thousand and one nights when I was younger. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol and Confinement

Minor: Child death and Cursing