Reviews tagging 'Grief'

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

55 reviews

maregred's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Slavery, Blood, and Kidnapping

Minor: Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Grief, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcohol

twistykris's review against another edition

adventurous funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

A fantastic pirate book that was so much fun! I started this book before going on a trip, and couldn't bring the physical book with me, so I got the audiobook on Libro for my flights- I have to say I enjoyed both the physical book and listening to the audiobook. The narrator did such a great job of really making you feel like you were listening to Amina tell a story (including moments where she spoke "away" from the mic, as if she were talking to the scribe). 

I loved so many of the characters, even a certain demon ex-husband 😈
Amina felt relatable to me, even if she's a mother in her 40s (and I am not a mother and in my early 30s). The way she spoke about the importance of her blood family and her crew was really sweet, and I really was rooting for her throughout the book.

This was my first Chakraborty novel, so I have not read The Daevabad trilogy, but I will definitely put them on my TBR now, especially knowing there are connections to the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Violence, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Confinement

Minor: Religious bigotry and Slavery

victoriousbookworm's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Body horror, and Misogyny

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Torture

Minor: Colonisation and War

unboxedjack's review against another edition

adventurous 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Gore, Violence, Murder, and Death

Minor: Grief, Sexism, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Islamophobia, and Transphobia

e_liz's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: War, Slavery, Transphobia, and Grief

discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? No

4.5

I loved this!!! What a vivid and gripping display of storytelling. The characters were so strong, and the plot was exciting! 

I selfishly wished that Raksh would find out about his daughter and be redeemed in the end. Even though he was a scoundrel, I still found his character strangely endearing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, Grief, Murder, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Alcoholism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, and Slavery

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

I picked this as my Book of the Month for March, and I also ended up receiving an additional copy in my FairyLoot subscription.
"The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi" follows ex-pirate and single mother, Amina al-Sirafi, on a wild adventure to rescue a young girl. Amina al-Sirafi gave up her ship, crew, and perilous life when she had her daughter, but she still feels the pull to return to the water and go on a grand adventure. A former crewmember's mother tracks down Amina al-Sirafi and asks for her help in finding and returning the crewmember's daughter. If Amina al-Sirafi can return the girl, the elderly woman has promised more money than Amina al-Sirafi could ever imagine. She is hesitant to put herself and by proxy her daughter in danger, but she cannot turn down this opportunity to set her family up for life. With everything on the line, Amina al-Sirafi embarks on an unforgettable adventure.
I knew that this book was about a pirate going on a great adventure, but I did not realize the pirate was a middle-aged woman and mother. I really, really loved seeing this badass woman going on this great adventure but still struggling with the guilt of motherhood. She wants to be home with her daughter, but the sea and adventure also call to her. She would do anything for her family, but her mother does not really approve of her lifestyle. The fantasy genre is so saturated with young people, at least the books I gravitate towards, so I loved seeing this strong main character who is in a different chapter of her life.
This story has some light magical and fantastical elements. I really enjoyed reading these moments because they felt laced with culture and history that I am not entirely familiar with. I really enjoyed learning more about a different country's history and lore. I also really enjoyed that the magic was not overly complicated and did not take me out of the story. I personally really enjoy fantasy novels that are still rooted in the realms of reality.
I feel ready to set sail and find treasure, and I cannot wait to pick up the sequel of this book when it comes out! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Violence, Death, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual content

blackcatkai's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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

CW: blood, violence, sexual content (not graphic, fade to black), grief, death, gore, religious bigotry, casual ableism, alcohol use, sexism, war mentioned, some body shaming, a moment with some light trans/homophobia

omg I loved this so so much. it was so much fun, tons of action, great characters with wonderful interactions with each other. exciting and heartwarming, there's even a character who's figuring out their own gender identity and I can't wait to see where we go with him and the rest of the crew in future books of the series.

oh, also a bedraggled ship cat I would die for. may payasam have more scenes going forward. all hail payasam!! 🐈🐾

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, and Sexism

Minor: Transphobia, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Sexual content, War, Homophobia, and Ableism

purplepenning's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Re-read for book club and loved it just as much the second time. Retired lady pirate gets the crew back together for one last job — shenanigans and legends ensue.  Perfection. No notes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Cannibalism, Torture, Colonisation, Blood, Xenophobia, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Minor: Slavery, Abandonment, Rape, Alcoholism, and Animal death

kbairbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.75

I was so lucky to have received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley!

Somewhere in this book something was described as a nautical mystery and I found that to be very on point for this book. Although I might replace the word mystery with adventure. The world building and characters were so rich, the twists and turns so exciting, the character relationships so well thought out, I enjoyed the danger, the emotional connection, and the magical elements. This book took pirates and made them even better! What a wild ride! I really enjoyed this read, as always, because Shannon is a freaking gem, and an amazing storyteller. I’ve loved everything she has written and she is an auto but author for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Death, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Blood, Animal death, Grief, Body horror, Classism, Misogyny, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Sexual content