Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood

17 reviews

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-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

4.0

This is the kind of book that made me ask "what was the point of everything else, then?" more than once. It is a pretty epic story, and I enjoyed having queer characters simply exist without their queerness being a major point of contention. This book wasn't for me (I thought for sure it would be!), but it's an excellent read

📚 The gist 📚: When a mysterious stranger rescues Csorwe from a sacrificial death, she devotes her new life to his murky quest. 

📒Representation📒 wlw mc, mlm sc

💕 For readers looking for 💕: epic fantasy, multiple worlds, morally ambiguous and ancient gods, LGBTQ characters, magic, assassins

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Torture and Xenophobia

Sacrifice, religious cult

kylieqrada's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is the perfect book to finish my 2021 reading challenge on. I absolutely loved this!!! It will definitely not be everyone's cup of tea, but my god, it was mine! All the cups!!! Dark, eerie, queerie (hehehe), and character-driven with the most epic world-building. Csorwe and Shuthmilie are everything and Tal??? He adds that levity that balances it all out. It sort of gave me Senera/Relos Var from the A Chorus of Dragons series by Jenn Lyons vibes, which is HIGH PRAISE. I cannot wait for The Thousand Eyes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm

Minor: Child death

the_wendybirb's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful mysterious 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

4.5

I loved this book! It was a fun fantasy, coming of age story about a girl who was raised in a death cult, trained as a mercenary (read: grew up doing what others told her to do.), and then had to figure out her own was in the world. The multiple worlds, travel system, gods and magic systems were all fun to read about, and offered glimpses into a bigger picture. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror and Child death

candidceillie's review against another edition

adventurous emotional slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Grief, Gore, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Body horror, Animal death, and Blood

kelseyland's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

Remarkable world-building + sharp, engaging writing + LGBT rep = the high fantasy novel of my dreams.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Torture, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Confinement, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Child death

invaderday's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense 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? No

4.0

it took me a while to get into this book. it can be a bit dense in places, but eventually i did really get into it and i ended up having a lot of fun, especially with the second half of the book!

i LOVE the gay/lesbian hostility of csorwe and tal. they have such a unique relationship that i really really enjoyed seeing. i love lesbian novels but so many of them tend to ignore or underplay the existence of men (which can be fine! i understand not always wanting to have men in ur escapism) but it was refreshing to see not just a lesbian main character and love interest but a gay man supporting character, and several other gay and bisexual characters of varying importance. it made it a lot more fun for me- some of it was pretty standard fantasy stakes, but the fact that almost every single relevant character was gay just added that extra flavor that i really needed so thank u ak larkwood!!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Torture, Self harm, Violence, and Death

Minor: Body horror and Child death

perditorian's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny inspiring medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

LGBTQ+, frenemies, necromancy

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Child death