Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Gideon la Nona by Tamsyn Muir

117 reviews

quirkykayleetam's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

Forget the "in space" part of "lesbian necromancers in space."

This is a locked room necromantic thriller told from the point of view of a snarky narrator who never wanted to be in this plot (or genre) in the first place.  But once there, she cannot help but care about the people around her.

My main issue with this book was pacing.  The beginning is a sightly too-long introduction to the world which, while I'm sure it will be important later in the series, plays much less of a part in this book than the interactions between characters.  Then the mystery begins with wonderful challenges and character moments...until the book becomes so concerned with narrative twists and surprises that it picks up pace to culminate in a fight scene that takes up literally a 4th of the book.

I found the characters, their growth, and their dynamics incredible.  And yes, that includes the side characters.  I wish we were given more time to focus on that and their REACTIONS to the mystery's twists than the loose worldbuilding that has little payout here.  I will never forget Gideon's character arc, but it felt downplayed in sequel setup.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Cannibalism, and War

possibilityleft's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

At the end of this book I experienced emotional damage and I fully expect it to make me cry again on re-reading in the future.

I went into this book knowing almost nothing beyond the tag line of Lesbian Necromancers in Space and that it was genre-bending for sci-fi and fantasy.  That was enough to sell me on reading it, even though I heard mixed things.

Did it deliver on those premises?  Mostly.  There are characters that identified as women and showed attraction/flirted with others that also identified as women, some of those characters were also necromancers.  With regards to being in space, there is very limited space shuttle travel, so I don't know that I would really quantify it that way, though there is ample room for that to change for the future in the series.

This book was indeed a crossover between sci-fi and fantasy in that it involved a technologically advanced civilization (space travel, and such) but with the deep roots of necromancy that almost took it into dark academia territory.  The necromancers are all obsessed in learning new theorems/spells and figuring out things in their specializations, and there are also trials they have to pass and mysteries to solve before they can advance.

There's a lot of tension because it is a competition and you don't really begin to understand the stakes until Act II and then the full whammy hits you near the end.

Also, I feel like I have a conspiracy theory based on the epilogue/info peppered throughout the book so click for spoilers, I guess:

Okay, so Gideon did not die with all the other children even though she was close to the vents for 10 minutes and her parents were hella scared about that.  In the epilogue, the Emperor says they couldn't retrieve Camilla (who was last seen alive) or Gideon's bodies so what if Harrow has Gideon's soul, but like, the body/vessel is still alive?  And Camilla managed to be resourceful because she definitely is wicked smart and they escaped the First planet...?  Or hid until they left?  I dunno.  Maybe I just don't want Gideon to be dead because her gay panic was so relatable.  And everyone else.  I loved the Fourth teens with their perpetual embarrassment and the Fifth cav Magnus was so sweet...

 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

boglord's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Genocide, Gore, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Vomit, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, and War

huntress's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Genocide, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Cannibalism

catboykit's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Toxic relationship, and Medical content

Minor: Emotional abuse

goosegame's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness and Religious bigotry

chellyfishing's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, and Murder

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Cannibalism

mnemonic_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail

elizmoe's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

4.75

regarding the ending: from the bottom of my heart, tamsyn muir — you can get bent (affectionate) (mostly. i’m mad but i get it but also i want them to be in love but also i guess that’s what fan fiction is for. you’re on thin ice tho))
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actual review:
half the time i had no idea what was going on, but i didn’t care because i was having an incredible time. i wish more books were this unapologetically ambitious with genre, plot, and world building. i’m absolutely feral to start harrow the ninth!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Gore, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Abandonment and War