Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

A Psalm of Storms and Silence by Roseanne A. Brown

27 reviews

bamfling's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Death, Self harm, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

Minor: Sexual content

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.25

Did love this as much as the first but still thoroughly enjoyed it. Loved all the side characters and liked how it ended.
Def read trigger/content warnings especially if you struggle with mental health.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Child death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Self harm

casey_h's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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

This duology is one of the best duologies or series that I've read in such a long time. The cities and settings were so tangible and vivid, I could feel the wind whipping sand in my face and the earthquakes shaking the ground beneath my feet (or rather beneath my couch let's be real lol). This world was just so lush, full, and vibrant I'm going to miss it for days to come. This duology was so much more than the love story the description set it out to be, and honestly I'd say the romance is more secondary to everything else happening - the racism and power struggles Malik and his sisters face all the time, the political coup and manipulations a certain someone so expertly weaves throughout the courts, the struggles Malik faces with his anxieties and the manipulation he faces from other people, the desperate quest Karina is on to find an solution to the horrors coming at their world without her literally DYING for it. This was fantastic.

And don't get me started on the characters! Everyone had such an intense and unique personality that they felt like real, tangible people. Every person had their own strengths, weaknesses, and traumas to heal from and they were just so human and relatable. I just want to give Malik a hug :(

The representation as well is fantastic, and gets much more nuanced in this book than the first, especially the LGBTQ+ rep. The mental health rep was a lot deeper and more intense in this one too.

All in all, fantastic, I loved it so much, I'm sad it's over, and I hope that this DOES get made into a tv series at some point still bc it would be AMAZING! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Animal death, Torture, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

megdconway's review against another edition

medium-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Slavery, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Death, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racial slurs, Death of parent, Grief, and Child abuse

oyindaaa's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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 was a beautiful sequel to a well written story. I loved Karina and Malik’s individual character development and how they developed together. The discussion around making difficult choices and learning to live with them really stuck with me. A realistic ending that made me cry then smile.

Do be aware of content warnings

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

ccrowley18's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny informative 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

4.0

I really enjoyed this series, the world building is based on West African folklore and some of the characters I came across were insane, it made me want to read more West African folklore.

I loved both MCs character development, Karina going from the reluctant crown princess to knowing that she has to do everything she can to save Ziran. And Malik’s character development took a bit longer I felt as though his didn’t really start until book 2, he was all over the place there was a time I thought he was going to have to die because he seemed so evil.

But most of all the character development I enjoyed the most was Idir!!!!! What?!? Who saw him coming as the voice of reason?! By the end he didn’t even want to get free and he respected Malik too much to try and harm him any more than he’d already been harmed.

I enjoyed the storyline and the plot twists. It wouldn’t be a YA fantasy without some plot twists! I also loved the narrator in book 2, talking about the Farid and Hanane history, it was very well added.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Trafficking

Moderate: Murder, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness

nettle_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

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

4.75

I could not get enough of this forbidden love that was somehow encouraged and hated by the gods. It had so much awareness for so many topics including suicide, grooming, racism, transphobia, trauma, abuse, and I guess I was very seen by having these topics discussed. It has so many layers of magic I will not even try to explain but it was magical hearing about the magic. 
It has a more deep dive into the same topics so many fantasy YA books have so don’t run away because of the content warnings.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Gore, Kidnapping, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicide, Trafficking, Violence, Abandonment, Classism, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide attempt, Torture, Transphobia, War, Sexual violence, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

melinajoy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring 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

4.75

4.75 stars! 
Wow did I love this book! It's book 2 and I found it answered a lot of questions I'd had in the first book and was also just easier to understand. Karina and Malik are amazing characters and I also love Ife. A story of perseverance!

I appreciate how the author presents Malik's mental illnesses, his anxiety, and his self harm, suicidal thoughts/attempts. 
I love Karina's queerness. 
And I just appreciate most of the characters' tenacity, will, and how very much themselves they are. 
I loved the journey we go through with them all separately and then together. 

I WISH we got a third book and that this wasn't a duology. We need a part 3 of them living their lives! But I guess I'll just deal with the end chapter. 

This book is definitely getting added to my favorites list!

*This book is graphic and contains a lot of trauma. Please check content warnings*. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, Kidnapping, Grief, Violence, Confinement, and Gaslighting

Minor: Chronic illness and Injury/Injury detail

CW: grooming

briely's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Mental illness, and Slavery

koerli's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Abandonment

It is a great book, deals amazing with all the problems!