Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

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

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

fairyollie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense 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

it did not take me long at all to absolutely devour this book. full of political intrigue, a bisexual love triangle, complex societal expectations and norms all to similar to our own - this book has it all (and more)!!!

what I especially love about this book, as a queer disabled adult who uses sign language, is that disability, sexuality, gender, alternate/augmented means of communication, etc., are all simply facets of life. never do I see a book in which a main character - or so many characters - are disabled and it is not a "pity, shame, how sad, I could never, this is gonna advance so-and-so's character arc!", plot point or traumatic backstory. it simply is. there is so much more I wish I could say, but for fear of my big mouth and I spoiling a thing, let me leave you with this: I cannot recommend this book more; it is simply impossible. I beg you, please join me in this raw, open-hearted, desperate, vengeful quest for adventure and justice and give this series a try.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Genocide, Grief, Gore, Self harm, Slavery, Racial slurs, Racism, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Classism, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Blood, Child abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Abandonment, and Kidnapping

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Police brutality, Blood, Colonisation, Genocide, Classism, Death, Addiction, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Child death

Moderate: Alcohol, Confinement, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Vomit, and War

Minor: Bullying

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

kylosten's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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: Addiction, Xenophobia, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Slavery, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Violence

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Genocide, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

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

third_bookworm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

2.0

Interesting worldbuilding concept, but the main characters were annoying, the plot was formulaic, and the writing was mediocre. Would have been much improved by a better editor, there were multiple typos and several irritating stylistic choices.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Child abuse, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Blood, Racism, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Slavery

applejacksbooks's review against another edition

adventurous tense slow-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

4.25

I really thought this was a strong opening book to this series and I can't wait to see what comes next in it. 

The Final Strife presents itself as a Middle East/African inspired world that combines a premises like The Hunger Games with Red Queen to create a terrible world on the precipice of change. 

Anoor and Sylah are some of my favorite characters I've read this year and I love that they give each other hope and the ability to believe in themselves and the world they've lived in and can change it for the better. 

I do think that the middle of this book lagged a little bit, but not enough to make me want to stop reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Classism, Death, Grief, Racial slurs, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Suicidal thoughts

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