Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi

67 reviews

serareadthat's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

This book was an expertly woven tale of grief, shame, perseverance, and just, LIFE, all packaged into a fantasy book that traps you in its world building and ties your heart strings to the characters. 

If you are stuck at the beginning and the start feels sluggish, KEEP GOING! all of that will make sense. it will all be worth it. 

If you are coming to this book for the sapphic love, know that it is not forefront and it is a SLOW burn. it kinda hits you at the end as it’s one built from friendship and forced proximity. 

I’m off to go devour book 2 because THE CLIFF HANGER?! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Slavery, Violence, and Drug abuse

ms_sarah621's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense 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

4.5

This is a phenomenal story. I had such a hard time putting it down. It was so complex and dealt with so many interesting, important topics. This truly transported me into its world. I was entranced. Sylah is such a powerful character and handles such horrible feats well. She’s creative and determined. Anoor is her opposite. Someone who was exposed to the wrongs in her world and just wants everyone to have a good life. She brings innocence and untainted knowledge/opinions. She is powerful in her own ways. The romance felt slightly forced for me. I felt that the main romance could have been friends that feel a sibling connection, so that threw me off. Overall, the change that these characters will make is something that I have to read. Not to mention, Hassa and all the discoveries with the Ghostings. So moving and such a powerful book of change. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, Murder, Classism, Violence, Drug use, and Colonisation

chroniquesdekellen's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Racism, Slavery, Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Genocide, and Addiction

kimreads14's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

I absolutely LOVED this book! 
I had a hard time at first, because of Sylah’s addiction she just made me so angry most of the time 😂

But oh am I glad I stuck with it! The world building, the magic system, EVERY SINGLE ASPECT OF THIS BOOK WAS PERFECT! 

Oh and the plot twistS 🧑‍🍳💋 yes with a “S” because I could honestly not fully keep track of everything! I’m sure I missed some very important details for the next book! But I’ll probably re-read it when my hard copy arrives ☺️

Can’t wait to dive into the second one! 🥰

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Slavery, Colonisation, Drug use, Gaslighting, Violence, Death, Excrement, Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

thecactusprincess's review against another edition

The pace is a bit bizzare and litterally 0 good things happen to the protagonist or people around her. Its hard to get into such a depressing book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Drug abuse

thethingwithfeathers's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Slavery, Classism, Violence, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Addiction, and Drug use

Moderate: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Murder

Minor: Death of parent, Child death, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts

violinknitter's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Child abuse

Moderate: Violence, Blood, Slavery, Drug use, Child death, and Emotional abuse

thage's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Addiction, and Drug use

hutchmusic14's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.0

Overjoyed at such a diverse cast of characters! Such a fascinating world El-Arifi has built. I'm very intrigued at the continued development in book 2. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Drug use, and Alcohol

tardisbookcat's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child abuse, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gore, Classism, Drug use, Addiction, Blood, Genocide, and Violence