Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty

47 reviews

h4ppycupcake's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious slow-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? No

4.0

The beginning of the book was very very slow. I thought about DNFing about a million times, but at about 60% the book got very good and stayed good all the way to the end. I’m glad I finished it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, War, Body horror, Physical abuse, Murder, Blood, and Sexism

bg_oseman_fan's review against another edition

adventurous funny 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? Yes

5.0

This book was a delight to read. I enjoy reading mythology and legends from cultures other than my own, and this story provided all of that and more. the characters felt so well defined and detailed. the writers voice in this story was so distinct and powerful. it really felt like being in Amina’s head in her travels. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, and Gore

Moderate: Classism, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, War, and Death

Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Sexual content, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Rape, and Transphobia

amschelly153's review against another edition

adventurous funny 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 really enjoyed this book and the adventurousness of the characters. It felt like my favorite parts of pirate tales and fantasy combines. Really lovely, tense, and intriguing!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Torture, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

kassidyreads's review against another edition

adventurous slow-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: Death and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Grief, Transphobia, and Torture

toopunkrockforshul's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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

4.0

Overall an enjoyable book! There were some parts that felt a little incongruous and the ending wasn't as satisfying as it could have been, but the characters were really interesting as was the worldbuilding!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cursing, Gore, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Body horror, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Religious bigotry

Minor: Sexual content, Slavery, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

futureofmydays's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Medical trauma, Murder, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Islamophobia, and Sexism

Moderate: Genocide, Grief, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Classism, Homophobia, Torture, and Trafficking

Minor: Vomit

tamara_joy's review against another edition

adventurous 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Torture, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Body horror and Death

Minor: Dysphoria, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Blood

cameronreads's review against another edition

4.0

There is a lot to like about this book. If you like pirate stories, you’ll love this; if you’re looking for an adventure with a middle-aged protagonist, you’ll love this; if you want a story with a rich magic and vibrant setting, you’ll love this.  Chakraborty has the most wonderful way of writing setting. It really made this book for me. You can tell the amount of careful research that went into this book, but also the care that went into bringing the research to life. It feels so vibrant and magical.  

I really liked Amina as a protagonist. It felt like such a rich perspective to follow a middle-aged mother who very much feels like her adventures are over into this magical adventure. However it was very clear that she was the centre of this book, and whilst I liked the moments of the other characters we get and the established found family they formed years ago, I wanted a bit more out of the side characters. 

For some reason it took me a while to get into this book. I think it’s partially due to the first person perceptive - whilst the writing in this book is truly wonderful, I do tend not o struggle with first person regardless, especially when there’s only one POV. It makes the story feel very linear to me, which is fine but struggles to hold my personal short attention span. It also definitely picked up nearer the end - the beginning feels more historical, and it slowly morphs into a fantasy nearer the end, which I personally prefer more, so that might be another reason. 

Still, I really enjoyed this book, and it will become a go-to recommendation for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Body horror, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, and Alcoholism

Minor: Addiction, Deadnaming, Death of parent, and Rape

brynalexa's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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? No

5.0

Amazingly perfect from the protagonist to the villain to the clever twist. So happy to see some nods to the Daevabad trilogy as well! Cannot wait for the second book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Kidnapping, Murder, Death of parent, Gore, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Body horror, Classism, Sexism, Slavery, Alcohol, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Grief, Misogyny, and War

Minor: Torture, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

grizzlysnack's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

A fantastical pirate story that is sure to keep you hooked from the first chapter! The characters are practically jumping off the pages as you read, and the world building in this book is both enthralling and terrifying!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gore, and Torture

Minor: Alcohol and Kidnapping