Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

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

52 reviews

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

faduma's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Trafficking, Violence, Alcohol, Torture, War, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Physical abuse

shaipanda's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.5

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 
This was an incredibly exciting and action filled book. I haven't been reading as much this year so I rushed to finish this before the archive date. As a result, there are still some parts of the book I have to come back to in order to call it fully finished. However, I did overall really enjoy this! I think if I'd read it at a more reasonable pace I probably would have enjoyed it slightly more but overall I really enjoyed the characters, the storyline, and the potential for more stories in this world. I also really loved the minor plot twist at the very end I found that to be really fun :)
I was personally not expecting anywhere near the amount of fantasy that ended up being in this book as I originally thought it was mostly just a pirate book, but I wasn't mad about discovering that just not what I originally expected. 
Overall would definitely recommend! 4.5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Gore

Moderate: Alcohol, Body horror, Colonisation, Murder, Cursing, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Islamophobia, Rape, Transphobia, Slavery, Kidnapping, and Religious bigotry

rosesforreading's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Blood

Moderate: Murder, Addiction, Body horror, Torture, Sexism, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Islamophobia, Sexual content, Transphobia, Animal death, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Misogyny

lettuce_read's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Gore

Minor: Transphobia and Religious bigotry

elizabeth_lepore's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Gore, and Body horror

Moderate: Alcohol and Torture

Minor: Misogyny and Religious bigotry

mjwhitlock18's review against another edition

adventurous

5.0

A foul-mouthed, middle-aged legendary pirate captain comes out of her retirement for one last perilous sea voyage to save a deceased friend’s daughter and potentially cement her family’s future, and ends up on quest to defeat a power-hungry murderous villain. I loved every second of this (I will read anything S. A. Chakraborty writes). Amina is a fantastic narrator with a sarcastic sense of humor, the mouth of a sailor (fitting), and complexity that makes her so interesting. She’s far from perfect (she accidentally married a demon), but she’s a badass mother who’d been told there was only one sort of respectful life for a woman, and she resoundly said fuck that. Amina’s friends and crew mates are also wonderfully grumbly and loyal, and along with the top tier prose and world building, this book exceeded my expectations. If you love a band of misfits, a useless ship cat, sweeping adventure with a hint of the fantastical, and a whole lot of found family - this is for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, and Death

Moderate: Alcohol, Torture, and Body horror

Minor: Sexism, Religious bigotry, Slavery, and Transphobia

ezwolf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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

5.0

Amina Al-Sirafi is a retired pirate trying to live out her retirement in peace with her daughter and family. When the mother of one of Amina's long dead crewmates comes to hire her to retrieve her kidnapped granddaughter, Amina brings her crew together for one last adventure. As you may have guessed, this adventure does not go as planned.

I loved this book SO much! Amina's devotion to her daughter, her sense of humor, and her crew being more than her crew but being her family were what I enjoyed most.  The end of the book had me crying, but and not for the reasons you might think. I can't wait to read about more of Amina's adventures! 

I listened to the audiobook version and I thought it was done in a clever way, where at points the narrator, Amina, would turn away from the recorder and speak to the scribe detailing her adventures. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for making this available in exchange for an honest review. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Body horror, Blood, Misogyny, Cursing, Death, Violence, Gore, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Classism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content

Minor: Dysphoria, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Drug use, Sexual harassment, and Slavery

takarakei's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-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? Yes

4.0

• mid-aged badass main character
• who is also a mother
• swashbuckling pirate adventures
• ancient magic
• reunited found family
• celestial/magical beings
• LGBTQIA+ representation

This book has a wonderful central theme about the complexity and depth of being a woman. How we contain multitudes. How someone can be both a mother and also want to pursue adventure and their own dreams.

The first half is a bit slow, and there's a lot of character set up before the plot gets going. But honestly the characters are so fun, & I really love the dynamic between Amina and her crew. The second half really gets intense and interesting and I didn't want to put it down. There's kiiiiiind of an enemies to lovers thing, it's hard to describe without giving much away: Amina's fourth husband and her are estranged for *reasons* and when he shows back up there is a lot of general animosity, exasperated dialogue and tension which will likely continue through the series. The ending of the main plot is fairly resolved, but it sets up very well for the rest of a series, which I am excited to read.


1.5/5 🌶️ (closed door) My personal preference would be a bit spicier (because Raksh is HOT), but maybe it will go there in future books idk?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Colonisation, and Death

Minor: Dysphoria, Rape, Transphobia, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, and Slavery

Minor discussion of rape in historical context, and Amina is threatened to be SA at one point (which doesn't happen)

bethanycrowepowell's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

5.0

A rollicking woman-led Sinbad type adventure on glittering, lethal seas.

Amina al-Sarafi left her beloved ship for many good reasons. She’s pulled out of retirement not because those reasons are gone, but because one of her biggest regrets has come knocking. The chance at fabulous wealth (which was missing from her sudden flight to the hinterlands) doesn’t hurt. Amina’s swagger and cynicism captured my heart, while her regrets and maturity made this feel more weighty as a fabulous adventure.

Chakraborty’s skill at turning the screws of stakes and evoking marvelous but dangerous worlds clinch this as a new favorite.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Gore

Moderate: Torture, Alcohol, Death, Cursing, Violence, and Body horror

Minor: Transphobia, Xenophobia, Dysphoria, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Religious bigotry

Everything "phobia" in these content warnings are not presented in a positive light. The graphic violence/gore are mainly in the last third of the book when dealing with a horrifying villain, but I was glad to be skimming text instead of listening by audio to that part!