Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen

15 reviews

zombiezami's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Confinement, Slavery, Alcohol, and Animal death

Minor: Colonisation

bbygirl21's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Body horror, Grief, Blood, Death, Genocide, Confinement, Murder, Colonisation, Child death, Racism, Slavery, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, and Trafficking

Minor: Pregnancy

saliwali's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Grief, Slavery, and Suicide

chloenrogers's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

This stunning tale of West African folklore contains some of the best writing I’ve ever read. It also holds some of the most engaging characters, stories, and histories I’ve come across. While the themes can travel to the darkest depths, there is no doubt that joy and resilience surface at every opportunity. This is a hero’s journey deserving of our marvellous, mermaid protagonist. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Body horror, Slavery, Blood, Colonisation, and Death

karissabubble's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, and Slavery

Moderate: Grief and Injury/Injury detail

This book was very thought provoking and a wonderful read! Enjoyed the journey and the struggles with grief, loss, and hope.

paigeinabook's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious relaxing sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Deportation, Child death, Death, Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, Cultural appropriation, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Medical content, Trafficking, Body shaming, Colonisation, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Racism, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Xenophobia

trippyotter's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Slavery, Death, and Suicide

raquelraquel's review

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? It's complicated

5.0

Author is incredible at vivid descriptions that put you into the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Racism, Grief, Physical abuse, and Slavery

This book takes place at the beginning of the slave trade, and this is a major contributor to the plot.

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

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