Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian

10 reviews

nicosta_music's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

Half Sick of Shadows was a really great retelling of Arthurian myth. It kept a lot of the adventure and magic that is typical of the genre, but added a few more modern sentiments like strong female characters and discussions of what it meant to be a strong female in that time period. I really enjoyed how the book was themed around how far one is willing to go to protect their friends or achieve a certain destiny. My only complaints are that knowing how the story was supposed to end made the book slog at times (especially with it jumping between past, present, and future), and I also wasn't a huge fan of

the trope where women have to give up their power in order to further a man, but I guess that was the whole point the book was making anyway.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Murder, Bullying, War, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Blood, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Child abuse, Grief, and Misogyny

Minor: Classism, Infertility, and Alcohol

acrosstheskyinstars's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I absolutely adored this book! It's going on my list of top books of 2024. This is a feminist retelling of the King Arthur story from the perspective of The Lady of Shalott. I've been trying to find this again ever since I read Avalon High in high school. I loved this take on the story and I honestly loved the character of Elaine. I found her relatable, as someone with a tendency to not let others get too close. I can't recommend this enough to anyone who loves retellings!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, War, Gore, Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

lizziemarie01's review

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious reflective tense slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Violence, Death of parent, War, and Suicide

psydneigh's review

sad tense medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I did not know going into this book that it was a tragedy and thats not really my thing, so i didnt love this one. Also was really confused by the constant switching between ‘fay’ and ‘fey’

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Bullying, Grief, Infidelity, and Misogyny

kirajarrar's review

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide and Mental illness

Minor: Death of parent

tmickey's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, and War

jessisbest's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

4.75

So close to being a perfect read! I had to take some points off for corset slander.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Death of parent

sallenreads's review

challenging emotional 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? Yes

5.0

A refreshing take on King Arthur that gives Elaine of Shalott agency.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Death, Infidelity, and Mental illness

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, and Sexual content

readwithde's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-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

4.25

I'm still trying to decide how I feel about this book, but maybe that's a good thing. 

Let me start with the good parts, the loyalty and camaraderie and love between the main characters, the difficult choices and grey areas of life, the weight of power and responsibility for the future, the interwoven fates of Gwen, Elaine, and Morgana... it was so rich with detail and life and possibly. 

As for the not-so-great parts, Elaine became a bit annoying to me.

She is constantly aware that knowing the future can have adverse effects, but she often finds herself steering the group into the wrong paths, the choices leading to a dark and painful ending. While I appreciate how she removed herself from the cycle, she still caused collateral damage, primarily to Lancelot.

I also felt like I needed 2 extra chapters, just to detangle what may have changed, if anything.

I would have loved to get a glimpse of how Arthur and Lancelot survived Camelot without the girls being there to counsel, heal, aid, and generally keep them safe and functioning.

Overall, I love this version of the story, and I love the focus on how the women of Camelot could not be themselves, how Gwen, Morgana, and Elaine spent their entire lives being trained to sacrifice themselves for Arthur's sake.

How they slowly eroded over time, and would have become even worse versions of themselves if not for choosing their own lives over Arthur's.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Cannibalism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, and War

bookishkale's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexism and Sexual assault

Minor: Abandonment, Body horror, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Suicide