Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

40 reviews

rubybereading's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-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

OMG!! Wow wow wow!! This was intense. This took me almost a full month to finish because I was reading a few other (very much LESS intense) books at the same time. Turns out, those other books served as perfect palate cleansers in between all the heavy subject matters, plot, and character treatment and especially character BUILDING of the more relevant characters of the book. This book shocked me! 
I thought it was going to be very mid based on the first few chapters. Midway through, I was intrigued and enjoyed the story, thinking it was a very solid book that still left much to be desired. So, I paused reading this for a few days (a few separate times) and instead spent those times starting and or finishing a few other books that were, again, much less 
"intense". Maybe I'm a lightweight. Idk. But this book was A LOT for me (first it was the colorism shoved down our throats in the first chapter, the plot jumps throughout, and then the torture and treatment the girls were going through, the heavy subject matter, the gore, etc). I ended up deciding to finish it JUST to get it over with so I could move on (since I'm trying NOT to DNF any books). And then, MY GOD (!!!). Somewhere after the halfway point, it took me to a whole nother REALM! This book turned me every which way but loose gotdamnit! And it left me wanting MORE! This book could've and probably SHOULD'VE been twice as long. That's part of my only slight criticism: there were time lapses throughout the story where the reader is just given the basic gist of what happened during the lapses instead of making it a part of the plot. The whole "telling us instead of showing us". It would've been nice to be able to read more of the character growth, experiences that enhanced her abilities, growth in strength and self-esteem, etc. Instead, there were multiple points in the story where we're told days, weeks and even months went by and something significant happened or occurred to the main character, and then the story would just continue from there. I would've preferred reading about it in detail, and definitely would not have minded if the book was even twice as long in order to do so. And I would've had to be literally peeled away from the pages! That would've made this book perfect! Still, it's a 5* for me! Having the palate cleansers and the short breaks definitely made this a better read for me though. Nonetheless, 5 star! 5 star! 5 star!!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

katiesbookmarks's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

4.0

Solid 4 stars for me! I loved the world building and this was a great reprieve from the semi-typical Fae/mostly white-based mythology. I loved the characters and while the romance fell flat for me, I thought this was a really solid read. It’s marketed as YA and I definitely felt as a reader in my 30s, some traits of the MC bothered me, likely only due to her age - same for some aspects where I felt it was too much telling rather than showing. But I think this series would be great for anyone wanting to read more fantasy and adventure. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

annniina98's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I was left wanting more. There were so many time skips, that you really didn't see Deka's character arc, nor the relationships building. They learned things and became friends, but it wasn't shown as it was happening. It was just told that it had happened. That left me at an arms length from everything that happened in the book. I liked it, it just had potential to be better, with like 100 pages more of the book.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

zombiezami's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

tiffanne11's review

Go to review page

fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Girls in Otera are two things, either they bleed red and are deemed pure, or they bleed gold and are sentenced to death. 
Deka has never fit in and is looking forward to being deemed pure and finally belonging. But her entire world is turned upside down when her town is attacked on the day of the ritual. Her blood runs gold, and everything changes. 

As a whole, this story was compelling. It used fiction to describe and address real systemic issues, while also creating a world and characters that draw you in. 
However, the big reveal was not shocking and it was mildly frustrating how long it took for it to happen. 
To me, there is no reason for there to be a sequel or to read it. All of the main loose ends were tied up, and there isn't anything pulling me into continuing the story. The reader has all of the information we need to put it down and be satisfied. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

emerentina's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark fast-paced
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

marketa_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes

3.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

lovelybubbles's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

jagodasbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark sad tense slow-paced

4.0

I am absolutely horrified
this book should come with at least 3 page long list of trigger warnings

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

yourfavebookhoarder's review against another edition

Go to review page

Too gorey

Expand filter menu Content Warnings