Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi

10 reviews

ford_defect's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

The beginning of this book is pretty rough. There were multiple times I thought about dnf'ing it (especially since it is so long). The pacing really needs some work. The beginning is super slow, and the main characters were pretty unlikeable (except Hassa) up until about 200-300 pages in. I also thought the treatment the Ghostings got was unnecessary up until 80% of the way through. When it all clicked together, though, my mind was blown. But what really annoyed me was all the fatphobic descriptions of Anoor. They lessened over time, but it rubbed me the wrong way. That, and the author put a lot of emphasis on how much Anoor enjoys food, which is another fatphobic stereotype. Another thing was how Sylah's addiction was portrayed. Major spoilers ahead.

I was so proud of her when she quit her joba seed use (albeit, she only quit cuz Anoor forced her to) and kept it under control throughout almost the entire book. But then, the author has her take a joba seed, so she can defeat Jond in Anoor's place during the trial of combat. And what's even worse: once she sees a healer after having relapsed, the healer tells her to essentially microdose for the rest of her life! I would rather have Sylah find a way to work around her seizures and tremors. The Ghostings have no tongues and no hands and they have found ways to talk and take care of themselves, so why can't Sylah find a workaround for her drug-induced disability? Like you wouldn't tell an alcoholic to keep drinking to prevent the DTs. You have to cut it out completely or it can ruin your life again.

And I had really gotten into the book by that point, too.

But anyway, now I'll talk about what I really liked about the book. The blood magic system was super cool. At first, I wasn't sure how much I liked needing to draw runes to fire a gun (since that would be pretty inefficient if you were slow at writing). Though, the longer I thought about it, the more it grew on me. Bloodwerk requires skill and dexterity, so not everyone would be good at it, which is a good challenge for the MCs that didn't know how to bloodwerk before. Secondly, the atmosphere was quite unique and immersive. Especially since the author wrote about the history of the world, too. The character development was also well done (with the exception of what I said about a part of Sylah's progress). I initially hated Anoor and Sylah, but they evolved so much. I was a little disappointed we didn't see more romance between them.

I came into this book thinking it was gonna be a sapphic romance... but it was more focused on Jond and Sylah's romance. The romantic scenes are still well-written, though. For both pairings.

So 3/5
I would have rated it 4/5 since it got really good halfway through, but I just can't forgive the author for how she portrays Sylah's addiction. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Violence, Body horror, Self harm, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Blood, Sexual content, Gore, Hate crime, Slavery, Addiction, Body shaming, Cultural appropriation, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Torture, and Alcohol

Minor: Dysphoria, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Racial slurs

ssjd411's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Addiction, Body shaming, Classism, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Hate crime

Moderate: Police brutality, Slavery, Violence, Racism, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

kayberlyn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Drug abuse, Addiction, Slavery, Hate crime, Genocide, Blood, Racial slurs, Murder, Grief, Drug use, Child death, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Racism

porcupine_girl's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Drug abuse, War, Addiction, Blood, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Genocide, Violence, Body horror, Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Slavery, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual content, Child death, Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Medical content, Self harm, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, Ableism, Blood, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria

Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, and Fire/Fire injury

musebeliever's review against another edition

slow-paced

1.0

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but I could not get on board with too many things. The book is clearly not for me, and some aspects were too flawed for me to get into the story. 

I really liked the idea of the two protagonists being swapped at birth and was curious about how it would play out in their lives. However, I was not at all on board with the magic system relying on a biological element. This has big chosen one and essentialism vibes, which I just could not deal with. 

I also struggled with the writing style and the characterisation. The fact that we are privy to every single thought created, in my opinion, very unidimensional characters. Despite this shower of information, some of Sylah's actions just do not make sense to me, and too much of the plot relies on Sylah's poor choice or negligence. I can understand this happening once or twice, but how am I to believe that we are in the presence of the person who will overthrow an empire. This did not work for me. 

I found everything very bleak, which makes sense for a dystopia, but also extremely heavy-handed. This read like YA to me, which is not my favourite writing style. The clues as to where the plot is going are underlined and surrounded by blinking lights. 

I was also taken aback by the inconsistence in tone.  There is a moment in the book when Sylah reminisces her tragic past while she watches the new tyrants of the Empire being chosen. She looks at one of them and thinks, "68 never looked so good." This sounded taken out of a gossip instagram reel commenting the Met gala. It felt really out of place. There were many moments like this when I was thrown off by sudden tone changes that did not match the atmosphere of a chapter. It feels like the book has not been edited.

Finally, fatphobia and foodshaming are frankly painful to read and so unnecessary. Sylah calls Anoor the lump, foodshames her, finds her dresses ridiculous because they are big. She seems to justify her fatphobia because she thinks that Anoor is fat because she is rich and privileged. This does not seem to be coherent as Anoor is mocked by her peers. The author also depicts her as a bit silly. Someone who chooses her seat in a room to have a better view on the dishes that are being served. We are clearly supposed to find that funny. Let's be serious one minute.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Body horror, Gore, Bullying, Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, Murder, Slavery, Fatphobia, Genocide, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Torture, Blood, Hate crime, and Violence

cg1256's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Murder, Drug use, and Gore

Moderate: Slavery, Racial slurs, and Hate crime

Minor: Kidnapping and Death of parent

_james_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Violence, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Torture

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Cursing, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Excrement, and Toxic friendship

booksalacarte's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

3.5

The Final Strife- 3.5⭐️ 3🌶️

Red is the blood of the elite, of magic, of control.

Blue is the blood of the poor, of workers, of the resistance.

Clear is the blood of the slaves, of the crushed, of the invisible.

Sylah dreams of days growing up in the resistance, being told she would spark a revolution that would free the empire from the red-blooded ruling classes’ tyranny. That spark was extinguished the day she watched her family murdered before her eyes.

Anoor has been told she’s nothing, no one, a disappointment, by the only person who matters: her mother, the most powerful ruler in the empire. But when Sylah and Anoor meet, a fire burns between them that could consume the kingdom—and their hearts.

Hassa moves through the world unseen by upper classes, so she knows what it means to be invisible. But invisibility has its uses: It can hide the most dangerous of secrets, secrets that can reignite a revolution. And when she joins forces with Sylah and Anoor, together these grains of sand will become a storm.

As the empire begins a set of trials of combat and skill designed to find its new leaders, the stage is set for blood to flow, power to shift, and cities to burn

✨My Opinion✨

Slow burn

Sapphic

Missed legacy

Classism

Revolution

Slow paced

Switched at birth

Grumpy sunshine

Rivals to lovers

It was a good read, but not mind blowing. I am happy with continuing the series, but not desperate for the next book.

The backstory and world building was expansive and very thorough. I was amazed by how in depth everything went. It was really well done. The magic system was unique in its introduction. I’m looking forward to reading more about it.

It was slow going for the first half of the book. The plot finally getting traction didn’t make up for the lulls, in my opinion. 

I was a little put out with things being mentioned multiple times before being physically described, case in point; Erus. I didn’t even realize it was a giant sand lizard until it was being ridden when Sylah delivering the dresses… I thought it was like a camel or donkey. I still don’t have a clear mental picture of what it looks like, or how it pulls a carriage! 

The main characters could have been flushed out a little more. Sylah was very hard to like. Really hard. Most of the book is her dealing with addiction and grief. Her personality beyond that was pretty petulant. Anoor was childish as well, but I would have enjoyed a more solid arc into her maturity. I often forgot that I was reading new adult rather than young adult, until the in the story spice happened.

Disability rep, but only because of mass mutilation as infants. Brutal, but I guess I understand how it plays into the plot. Hassa was a great character that wasn’t explored more until the second half of the book, and even then seemingly as a throwaway addition. Her story line was more compelling than the main one, by far!

I wish that the trials would have been more prevalent in the story telling. They felt really important in leading up to them, then glossed over when we finally got to them. It would have been great character building to see them more thoroughly through Anoor’s eyes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Addiction, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

gagereadsstuff's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Drug abuse, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Hate crime, Violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Addiction, Cultural appropriation, Police brutality, Racism, Self harm, Classism, Colonisation, Death, and Drug use

Moderate: Vomit, Torture, Excrement, Grief, and Kidnapping

burstofhope's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Confinement

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, Violence, Racial slurs, Slavery, Racism, and Alcohol

Minor: Abandonment, Ableism, Self harm, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Colonisation, Classism, Sexual content, Hate crime, Death, and Child death