Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen

14 reviews

a_random_fangirl's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Blood, Colonisation, Murder, Slavery, Death, and Gore

squinnittowinit's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

3.75

Personally I would have enjoyed it more without the romance. I didn't really feel like there was much of a reason for it to be there outside of the little mermaid parallel. I also didn't love any of the characters. I thought they were fine, but I didn't feel like I knew them very well or that they had much depth overall. An okay book that's rather forgettable for me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Slavery, and Violence

Minor: Child death, Kidnapping, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Death, and Blood

befrazzledenby's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Torture, Violence, Racism, Slavery, and Animal death

abbythebookreviewer's review

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Skin of The Sea was an interesting read, a dark yet refreshing take on a mermaid plot.  I found some of the prose to be repetitive, but still, it was well-written. This story is plot driven which leads a bit to be desired of the characters but I found them to be likable. The historical portion of the story was by far the most intriguing, the intertwining of African culture was a refreshing break from the more Westernized novels. The pacing of the story was a bit off in places, I found myself skimming at parts because the scenes held little to no purpose to the main plot, while I can appreciate a history lesson it felt forced in some areas. It's a quick read, with several points of high tension that left me on the edge of my seat. Overall, I would recommend this to young adult readers and lovers of historical fantasy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Slavery, Torture, War, Violence, Blood, Physical abuse, and Racism

saphfics's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Slavery

Minor: Racism and Torture

theuncannydani's review

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

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

2.5

The book was stuffed with myths, but didn't take time to flesh out every one of them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Blood, Child death, Death, Violence, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Physical abuse, and Genocide

Moderate: Kidnapping

thevietvegan's review

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

3.75

I loved the story and mythology of this book. Unicorns and fairies and gods but from West African lore and culture are so fun and interesting to learn about through this book! I struggled a bit because everything was written in present tense and that is always kind of distracting for me but the last half of the book was very exciting so it was easier to overlook haha.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Trafficking, Murder, Torture, Death, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Blood

librarybookscene's review

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Body horror, Kidnapping, Gore, Slavery, and Racism

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

4.25

Skin of the sea is a beautiful fantasy read, which will keep you on the edge of your seat and reading late into the night. The world building and intertwined elements of mythology resulted in an unforgettable epic journey of love, loss, and justice.
To any fantasy enthusiasts, I would highly highly recommend!
*please check trigger warnings prior to reading!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Slavery, War, Torture, Suicide attempt, Violence, Grief, Racism, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Suicide, and Murder

lilia493's review

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery and Torture