Reviews tagging 'Classism'

The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson

4 reviews

kiwij96's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

Great concept but genuinely a painful read. Two reluctant young adults with prophesised roles end up trying to bring down a space tyrant while in search for the FMC's sister.

It was just so painfully repetitive at times and the characters didn't feel fleshed out enough. The friendships and relationships felt rushed but the prophecy was so long drawn out as if to hammer home that there was a prophecy (just in case by the 100th page you were unaware). Parts of the plot felt like they had been forgotten about at times

Qala shows up, tells Obi he has 3 weeks to make a decision and then returns what feels like a month and a half later in the story's timeline.

I also really just didn't understand the relevance of the 1812 storyline other than it being a romance subplot for the majority, it just felt out of place.

The editing process needed to be more thorough, too. This book could have been like 100-150 pages shorter, and was just riddled with spelling and grammatical errors. Also, as much as I love a book with long chapters when done correctly, this made the long chapters FEEL longer.

Felt like DNFing after 50 pages but stuck with it for the rest of the book just to see where it got me. Found family trope was introduced well, good concept and creativity, great introduction to a series albeit a bit long. But generally speaking, this one wasn't for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Grief, Abandonment, Death of parent, Addiction, Classism, Colonisation, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Torture

Moderate: Gun violence, Kidnapping, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Blood, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Colonisation, Trafficking, Death, and Slavery

Moderate: Genocide, Grief, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, War, Child abuse, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism

Minor: Vomit, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, and Rape

pvbobrien's review

adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Suicide, Trafficking, and Slavery

Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Classism

Minor: Blood, Rape, Torture, Child abuse, Infidelity, War, Mental illness, and Sexual content

blacksphinx's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.5

I agree with two things I've seen in other reviews:

1. The author wrote this book between the ages of 16 and 18, and you can tell.
2. Marketing this as an adult book is a massive mistake, and it should have be aimed at a teen audience.

This is not to say that the book is bad. I applaud the young author for her genre smashing approach, wanting to create a time traveling space opera that is also an epic fantasy and a gay regency romance. It's also a blisteringly fast-paced book with little meandering and downtime. I think if I was a teenager I would have really enjoyed it. But wow, having an ill-defined prophesy the characters must all follow really fills this book with insta-found family and insta-love. Some characters that are supposed to be educated, wise adults come off as extremely childish (see: the commentary on the prophecy we get sometimes at the end of chapters that no academic would have written in such a casual tone). I think there's potential here, and I'm curious if she keeps writing after this series is finished.  

I just can't get past looking at the King George IV, known womanizer and extravagant spender, and going "what if he was a progressive, anti-imperialist gay man with a Black lover?" I can't do it. It is so hilarious it makes my brain shut down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Suicide, Abandonment, Death, Addiction, Slavery, and Drug use

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Confinement, Gun violence, Genocide, Blood, Classism, and Vomit

Minor: Medical content, Police brutality, Torture, Trafficking, and War