Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri

5 reviews

hailstorm3812's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

4.0

This was an enjoyable book. Not sure why it was chosen for the romance book club but hte subplot of the romance is quite compelling. I liked the world building and characterization. Overall a stong book but I kept comparing it to her later work which I like much better unfortunately.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexism, Slavery, and Sexual harassment

karatics's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Cursing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

msradiosilence's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.5

Tldr; I love Amun and Mehr, and I really liked how well rounded this book is. 

Read my full review at: https://www.rainyreader.com/single-post/empire-of-sand/

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Infertility, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism

griffinthief's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Grief, and Colonisation

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Abandonment

aseaoftomes's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-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

I thoroughly enjoyed this. 

This is a desert South Asian fantasy novel that follows our main character Mehr. She has this special magic that allows her to control spirits and gods, and after being hidden her whole life, her and her abilities get discovered and she's forced into an arranged marriage and into a life she's never known and everything that comes with it. 

I really liked the writing a lot. It was really well done and generally flowed well. It was easy to fall into and just really captures your interest. 

The plot was mostly secondary to the characters, but it's pretty much what I mentioned above. 

The world building is definitely one of the strongest parts of the book. I loved learning about the customs and traditions of the different cultures in here and how they came together, the magic was excellent and the dancing that went with it was fantastic. The atmosphere was also great (desert setting). At the same time, I also wish we got more of the world and the history of everything. There were certain aspects I wanted more of and felt a bit underdeveloped, but I think that might be more of a personal preference than anything else. 

Finally, the characters. I really liked Mehr as our main character. She was strong, kind, and incredibly smart. I really liked seeing her growth throughout the book. My favorite character though was definitely Amun and while he was always there, I wish we got to spend more time with him. The Maha was written well and I despised him. I just really liked a lot of the dynamics and themes that were explored as well (family, love, sacrifice, vows/oaths...) it was all just really well done. But like with the world, I would've liked to spend more time exploring the relationships and dynamics. It just felt like something was missing and it's hard to put my finger on what. 

All in all, I really enjoyed this book despite feeling like I wanted more and that things could've been expanded on. Definitely the best desert fantasy I've read so far. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Sexual content