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Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'
Así se pierde la guerra del tiempo by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
8 reviews
christinewonder's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
mikathereviewer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This was one of my most anticipated books for this month and I am so disappointed.
The following will only be a rant about the book. Nothing good I found except that we got an explanation that "Steganography is hidden writing." and that the ending was interesting.
As always; I respect opinions from others and therefore expect the same to be done to me. If you liked the book, so be it. I don't have anything against your opinion or rating to this book.
First of all the letter beginnings are so weird and cringe sometimes. Especially these references. When I understood it right the 'Dearest Blue-da-ba-dee,' is a reference of this one annoying frog song and we also get other cringe-worthy references like 'Dearest 0000FF' (colour hexcode, you all can't legit call this cute or romantic) and of course our so 'cool' flex with languages 'My dear Miskowaanzhe' which is Anishinaabemowin 'cause of course the author totally speaks that language and didn't translate this on full purpose to sound so 'cool'.
The whole writing was always the same, no matter which character wrote the letter and therefore it was sometimes hard to distinguish the two. Both therefore seemed also flat and we only get trauma dumping in the most inappropriate ways. They both also wrote almost since the beginning like they knew eachother since ages and not like strangers that form a bond over time, which made it unrealistic for me to belive that they later on fell in love.
The writing style was also unbearable to me. It was often poetically written but in either cringe or way to melodramatic ways.
Examples
1. ‘Have you ever had a hunger that whetted itself on what you fed it, sharpened so keen and bright that it might split you open, break a new thing out?
Sometimes I think that’s what I have instead of friends.’
2. ‘I have been birds and branches. I have been bees and wolves. I have been ether flooding the void between stars, tangling their breath into networks of song. I have been fish and plankton and humus, and all these have been me.’
3. ‘I want to be a body for you.
I want to chase you, find you, I want to be eluded and teased and adored; I want to be defeated and victorious—I want you to cut me, sharpen me.’
I also never understood or rather we never got told what kind of creatures they both are. Even though it's science fiction, we barely get any of it. And we get almost no other explanations like how certain things worked like the ways with the MRI machine and stuff as that was their way of sending letter without being caught.
If the writing style would have been different and we would have got more explanations of things I might would have enjoyed the book more. But the whole book felt like a sketch that wasn't supposed to be published yet.
Wasn't for me, but perhaps someone else would like this story and its characters.
July 17, 2024
The following will only be a rant about the book. Nothing good I found except that we got an explanation that "Steganography is hidden writing." and that the ending was interesting.
As always; I respect opinions from others and therefore expect the same to be done to me. If you liked the book, so be it. I don't have anything against your opinion or rating to this book.
First of all the letter beginnings are so weird and cringe sometimes. Especially these references. When I understood it right the 'Dearest Blue-da-ba-dee,' is a reference of this one annoying frog song and we also get other cringe-worthy references like 'Dearest 0000FF' (colour hexcode, you all can't legit call this cute or romantic) and of course our so 'cool' flex with languages 'My dear Miskowaanzhe' which is Anishinaabemowin 'cause of course the author totally speaks that language and didn't translate this on full purpose to sound so 'cool'.
The whole writing was always the same, no matter which character wrote the letter and therefore it was sometimes hard to distinguish the two. Both therefore seemed also flat and we only get trauma dumping in the most inappropriate ways. They both also wrote almost since the beginning like they knew eachother since ages and not like strangers that form a bond over time, which made it unrealistic for me to belive that they later on fell in love.
The writing style was also unbearable to me. It was often poetically written but in either cringe or way to melodramatic ways.
Examples
1. ‘Have you ever had a hunger that whetted itself on what you fed it, sharpened so keen and bright that it might split you open, break a new thing out?
Sometimes I think that’s what I have instead of friends.’
2. ‘I have been birds and branches. I have been bees and wolves. I have been ether flooding the void between stars, tangling their breath into networks of song. I have been fish and plankton and humus, and all these have been me.’
3. ‘I want to be a body for you.
I want to chase you, find you, I want to be eluded and teased and adored; I want to be defeated and victorious—I want you to cut me, sharpen me.’
I also never understood or rather we never got told what kind of creatures they both are. Even though it's science fiction, we barely get any of it. And we get almost no other explanations like how certain things worked like the ways with the MRI machine and stuff as that was their way of sending letter without being caught.
If the writing style would have been different and we would have got more explanations of things I might would have enjoyed the book more. But the whole book felt like a sketch that wasn't supposed to be published yet.
Wasn't for me, but perhaps someone else would like this story and its characters.
July 17, 2024
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War
Moderate: Suicide, Stalking, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Abandonment
autumnk3lly's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
3.5/5 Stars
All in all, I enjoyed this. Which is unusual because I despise sci-fi with every inch of my being. The relation between Blue and Red and the tragedy it tells? Immaculate. If I wasn't at work when I finished reading it, I probably would have cried. Blue and Red are written so beautifully, reading their letters and seeing how they conveyed their love. The romance and enemies-to-lovers were well done. I only give it 3.5 though because of how confused I was for the first 70ish pages. I for the life of me could not figure out what the braids were, what Garden and Agency was. I didn't realize until about halfway through it was time travel. So I still don't like sci-fi, it's confusing. But if you look past the science-space mess, it's beautiful.
All in all, I enjoyed this. Which is unusual because I despise sci-fi with every inch of my being. The relation between Blue and Red and the tragedy it tells? Immaculate. If I wasn't at work when I finished reading it, I probably would have cried. Blue and Red are written so beautifully, reading their letters and seeing how they conveyed their love. The romance and enemies-to-lovers were well done. I only give it 3.5 though because of how confused I was for the first 70ish pages. I for the life of me could not figure out what the braids were, what Garden and Agency was. I didn't realize until about halfway through it was time travel. So I still don't like sci-fi, it's confusing. But if you look past the science-space mess, it's beautiful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and War
Minor: Physical abuse
haleymk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Physical abuse, Torture, Vomit, and Grief
effievee's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, and War
Minor: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Pandemic/Epidemic
kshertz's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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
4.75
This is such a romantic story. I couldn’t get over the beauty with the letters that they wrote each other. They wrote to each other in very creative ways as well. I do think it may have been a little too smart for me like some of the plot went over my head and there’s no world building you’re just in the world right away. Otherwise this is a five star read for me because it’s so amazing. It’s such a short book and yet you feel so much for these two individuals fighting against time and circumstance. I loved it. I think everyone should read it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
suchsweetsorrow89's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
queer and weird!
this short and sweet sci-fi book not only captures a love story between red and blue, but in that same breath captures the audience's attention— asking us to think critically about what we know about war, love, and what it means to truly feel and find a sense of belonging in a world that constantly shields you from that. this last point reigns particularly true, especially considering that this is a story about queerness (though this story is not one of coming out). The queerness I refer to here goes beyond the sapphic bounds of the characters to capture and reflect overarching feelings and struggles with feeling a kind of alienation and isolation from society, lying in the non-normativity that pegs the way for self-realization. what i really appreciated about this book was the ode it pays to the lyrical loneliness, one that brings those who go into the book excited back to earth and gives a warm hug to those who struggle with feelings of being lost and lonely, wondering the difference between what it means to be alive and what it means to live— and what to do when you feel utterly alone at the edge of that. paired with (not entirely clear but definitely there) allusions to shakespeare, socrates, plato's symposium, this book was really enjoyable!
this is not to say that this book is perfect. one of the main issues i had was the repetitive writing style, which at times made it hard to get through. in addition, i think at times the language was so flowery and (the poetic ye-old) 'trying too hard' to be meaningful, that, paired with a plotline as strange as this one, failed to deliver. i also think that this book could have done well if it were longer and had more with the concept of the time war. while i think that this concept is really cool, i often felt like it was more of an 'in the background' rather than holding something more concrete. as is the case with me and most novels, i also thought that them falling for each other read a bit rushed at times, though i will admit that i think the twist at the end was done moderately well (one moment where i think the redundant style did the overarching themes and plotlines dirty). despite this, this book was really enjoyable, and in the modern day there aren't many queer romance novellas that really do something like this anymore, so i commemorate the two authors.
this short and sweet sci-fi book not only captures a love story between red and blue, but in that same breath captures the audience's attention— asking us to think critically about what we know about war, love, and what it means to truly feel and find a sense of belonging in a world that constantly shields you from that. this last point reigns particularly true, especially considering that this is a story about queerness (though this story is not one of coming out). The queerness I refer to here goes beyond the sapphic bounds of the characters to capture and reflect overarching feelings and struggles with feeling a kind of alienation and isolation from society, lying in the non-normativity that pegs the way for self-realization. what i really appreciated about this book was the ode it pays to the lyrical loneliness, one that brings those who go into the book excited back to earth and gives a warm hug to those who struggle with feelings of being lost and lonely, wondering the difference between what it means to be alive and what it means to live— and what to do when you feel utterly alone at the edge of that. paired with (not entirely clear but definitely there) allusions to shakespeare, socrates, plato's symposium, this book was really enjoyable!
this is not to say that this book is perfect. one of the main issues i had was the repetitive writing style, which at times made it hard to get through. in addition, i think at times the language was so flowery and (the poetic ye-old) 'trying too hard' to be meaningful, that, paired with a plotline as strange as this one, failed to deliver. i also think that this book could have done well if it were longer and had more with the concept of the time war. while i think that this concept is really cool, i often felt like it was more of an 'in the background' rather than holding something more concrete. as is the case with me and most novels, i also thought that them falling for each other read a bit rushed at times, though i will admit that i think the twist at the end was done moderately well (one moment where i think the redundant style did the overarching themes and plotlines dirty). despite this, this book was really enjoyable, and in the modern day there aren't many queer romance novellas that really do something like this anymore, so i commemorate the two authors.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and War
Moderate: Physical abuse and Murder
rhymeswithnova's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
I would've enjoyed this more as a broader story. The very close focus on the two perspective characters is ordinarily something I love, but I couldn't really imagine and sink my teeth into the setting here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, and Physical abuse
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