Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen

76 reviews

zombiezami's review against another edition

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Loved the premise, but the execution didn't hold my attention

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mj_86's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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? No

4.25


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meredeath6's review

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

4.25


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ginalucia's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful tense 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

4.75

If you’re looking for an introduction to African mythology that’s beautifully-written and emotional, this is it.

First off, I have to say that I absolutely love the portrayal of the orisha in this book. They're depicted as divine and otherworldly, yet still maintain a sense of humanity - a perfect balance that keeps you on your toes and adds layers of depth to the story.

I adored the inclusion of additional African mythology throughout the narrative. It's beautifully written and incredibly immersive, adding richness and authenticity to the world the author has created.

The writing itself is intense, emotional, and undeniably beautiful. It draws you in from the very first page and doesn't let go until the very end.

And don't even get me started on the author's note - it's a gem worth reading. Not only does it provide valuable context and insight, but it also showcases the inspiration behind the story and solidifies the mythology within the book.

Can’t wait to read the next one.

For more reviews and book recommendations, check out my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/ginaluciayt

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shelbyslifer's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.0


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bookisshlvr's review

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious sad slow-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

4.25

For me the book started off a little slow, although this is my first fantasy outside of Harry Potter. But the story was so beautiful and the ending emotional. I did feel as though it was a lot of buildup in this book but there are some interesting factors and everything ties together in the end. It was very slow paced for me because it was so informative and detailed. The chapters are long, but I can’t say that anything was left out or that I was left with questions or missing anything. Overall this book was good and I would definitely recommend. 

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lilly_reads98's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense

3.5

3.5 I can see other people liking this more than me if they like a non stop thrilling and dark adventure story, but it just got too violent for me and there weren’t enough lighthearted moments for me to enjoy it. I enjoyed some parts in the beginning and middle but the majority of the book is just so tense so I was just anxious for the entire second half of the book. I love the concept of the book though and wanted to read about the African mythology and the fantasy world with the main character a mermaid and other fantasy creatures. I think the author did a good job of writing descriptive and atmospheric scenes, I wanted more description at times when it came to the fantasy aspects. I would definitely reccomend this and I wish I could have enjoyed it more. I was intrigued because of the African mythology and I read a review that the writing is lyrical and atmospheric. I prefer atmospheric and descriptive/lyrical writing, and this does have some but not a lot. 
The beginning is a little slow to get into. There’s a nice descriptive line; “The sky swirls, whipping to a smear of charcoal gray with slashes of pale blue.” The mythology in this is interesting, I enjoyed that part where we see the two gods together, one wielding lighting. 
The little fairies are so sweet, they save Kola and then say, “we are signing and dancing for his health.” I love that there’s little things like this thrown in. “The yumboes who have left their seats and have begun to dance again, most with wooden cups of wine still clutched in their hands. They spin and turn, sunlight skittering from their skin and the precious metal in their hair.” After this the book was just making me anxious because it’s so tense. So I just reading as fast as I could to get to a more enjoyable part but that never came. I also was looking forward to the characters spending so much time together because they’re together throughout most of the book, I love in books when that happens, but that doesn’t lead to them talking a lot or showing us them interacting a lot and I really wanted that. I like the characters but I realized we just don’t get a lot of time developing them. And I like Simi but she’s just always so grumpy and Kola is so sweet. I wish we could have more books where both of the main characters are sweet, so many books I’ve read recently have had one grumpy Mc and one sunshine one. 

I didn’t think it’s a bad book at all, I just wish I had known that the tone is mostly dark and tense. The description of the book sounds really good and interesting to me, it does say danger lurks at every turn and that’s accurate. But I feel like it doesn’t convey how most of the book is not happy. The ending is also not a happy ending. I like books with happy endings. 

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bbygirl21's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

This is a good book. It just wasn't my favorite. I'm mostly a romance reader, so even in a mythology packed fantasy book, I need at least some romance in it, and they're just wasn't in this book. The main character and the boy she saved are supposed to like each other, but I just didn't feel any romantic chemistry between them. Maybe that develops more in the second book, but I don't plan on reading that yet. 

I did get quite emotional at some parts. Especially when it came to a particular death scene. I thought the writing was great, even if it wasn't for me. The ending was really good as well. 

The ending is done well enough that you wouldn't necessarily need to read the second book. Yes it ends kind of open ended, with some questions left unanswered. But I don't necessarily consider it a cliffhanger. You could stop with this book and be fine in my opinion. 

Overall this is a good book. I loved the mythology and the plotline. I wanted more romance, but if that's not your thing this is definitely for you. I'd probably still recommend this even if it wasn't entirely for me.

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bookishwitherin's review

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adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense 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

5.0

The story does start off a bit slow, but the world building is incredible. This story goes beyond just a fantasy book. It tells a beautiful tale of hope and magic in a dark world. The characters touched my heart and the story opened my eyes to so many things I never learned about. Immediately going to buy book 2. 

Please check the trigger warnings first because the story touches on enslavement and violence of West Africans.  

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saliwali's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0


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