Reviews tagging 'Lesbophobia'

Ruinsong by Julia Ember

4 reviews

venti's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

2.75

just eh 

also i thought the social commentary of a rebellion for the oppressed upper class was a little funny. like this would be far more interesting if it was from elene’s pov and/or was the story of how she overthrew the government to torture rich people. pure comedy 

also the tulip at the end feels like a sequel hook but if it isn’t it feels weirdly reductive to the whole conclusion of the story? like i got the vibe it was from

elene and was to show she still had her powers and could potentially be evil again (ooh scary) but like why did we need that? the story was fine with her just being in prison. we could gather from the idea that the expelled mages using magic that she had a possibility to use magic again, that was already established, and cadence literally says so herself. so the tulip feels a little unnecessary to me.

maybe i’m reading too much into it tho lol. also the romance was boring 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Torture, Emotional abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Lesbophobia

Minor: Child death, Ableism, and Terminal illness

qraveline's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Animal death and Blood

Moderate: Torture, Gore, Violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Lesbophobia, Abortion, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Body horror, War, Genocide, and Cancer

starccato's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Gore, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Stalking

Minor: Abortion, Confinement, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Vomit, Lesbophobia, Body shaming, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content

cameronreads's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

3.5

I really liked the magic system in here - using songs as spellcasting was super interesting and unique. I liked the world as well, and the author did a good job of showing just how awful the queendom was, although I would have liked to see more of the Expelled settlement. In fact, that whole section of the book could have been expanded on, in my opinion. I also would have liked to see more of the rebellion. I don't know if I just love books with loads of POVs, but for me it would have been cool to see from Nolan's POV (not just because he was my favourite character). In general, actually, I just felt like more could have happened. There were practically zero side plots, and considering this book is quite short for a fantasy it wouldn't have been any harm to add some, and I think it would have been helpful to expand the world a little more. Most of the book felt almost like build up, and I was actually expecting it to be the first book in a duology until I got to the end. However, I did really like how the plot progressed, and I was engaged throughout the story. It wasn't entirely unique as uprising plotlines, but the magic system brought something new to the table, and the fact that the nobles were discriminated against by the queen was unique as well. I liked that it was set in court, and that said court was pretty different from most you read in fantasy. 
I did really like the main cast, and both the queen and Ren were really interesting antagonists to read about. However, and this is complete personal preference, I did think the romance was a bit lacking. When I was expecting it to be a duology, I was really liking the idea of a slow burn, and thought the hints of romance were being done really nicely, but when I realised those 'hints' were the romance, I was a little underwhelmed. It could have been utilised really nicely and been a great side plot, but it was barely there at all. Again, that's personal preference, but still. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Torture, Gore, and Grief

Minor: Lesbophobia, Cancer, Abortion, Alcohol, and Vomit