Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Blood Gift by N.E. Davenport

17 reviews

mj1588's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Violence, War, Racism, Misogyny, Torture, Genocide, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Gun violence

kjanet's review

adventurous dark sad tense fast-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

 

I will admit the first book had my attention all the way through with no stops. This one kind of lost me in some places. I feel like the buildup of beating these major powerful villains ended too easily (perhaps not for them, as they were fighting) but something about both major fights seemed anticlimactic. Also, the ending did wrap up MOST of the storylines, but left some open, which, was not horrendous. For some reason, the bigger threat at the end of the book reminded me a tiny bit of the ending of Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor.

Also, the main character’s personality also got kind of annoying. I know she is strong and powerful and whatnot, but her attitude did begin to grate on my nerves sometimes. 

Regardless, still a great Duology (and the author leaves it open to perhaps a companion/sequel duology that takes place some time later). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Genocide

Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexism, and Racism

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content

shannahtan's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I loved this one more because Ikenna spent most of it with her squad and the non-white folks outside of the republic. I appreciated the complex relationship between her and Selene.

Ikenna was still rightfully pissed, ready to kill, and hoped Selene found peace and freedom after disappearing.

It got a bit cheesy between

her and Reed. I appreciate when they have sex for the first time in this book because she thinks about running away from the intimacy after then talks herself out of it. I thought that was nice character development and didn’t cause extra unnecessary drama like with Xaden and Violet in Iron Flame.

They’ve been through a lot and evaded death multiple times. There was only one really scene. I wish there’d be another series for the war with the Gods. 

Loved the duplogy. If you’re looking for romantasy. escapism that doesn’t have racism then this isn’t it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Racism, and Sexual violence

apiratethatdoesnothing's review

adventurous challenging fast-paced

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

2.5

This book fluctuated too much between a very immature main character surrounded by many characters with their wits about them and this same main character doing very adult acts (fornication, muddering, strong magic) without really taking the time to learn about her powers to use them properly. There were also SO MANY WORDS that were unnessesary to describe wardrobe, behaviors, and physical appearances as if the author was trying very hard to hit a word-count. 
Premis of book was interesting; A high powered warlord, dependents of gods, magic and rituals, battles for bettering the world for the people with less, but there seemed to be some sort of disconnect. I don’t feel complete after finishing the book. 
Also, the passing of time didn’t even come up until the last 20
pages or so when descriptors finally mentioned how
It’s been months since an event (battle) only a few chapters  before occurred. Through the book I felt like I was being rushed from scene to scene without knowing there was a legitimate pause of more than a day between occurrences. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment and Violence

Moderate: Xenophobia, Violence, Racism, and Toxic friendship

lesliehirgelt's review

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.0

I felt that the writing wasn't quite as strong in this book as it was in the first one, and it arguably ends on a cliffhanger, or at the very least has an ending that heavily implies there is more story to tell for these characters. It seemed like an odd choice for what is supposed to be the conclusion of a duology. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Toxic friendship, Death, Blood, Misogyny, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Sexism, Racial slurs, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Classism and Alcohol

gaden35's review

adventurous dark hopeful tense fast-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

I strongly detest unnecessary romances. It added nothing to the plot in my opinion and actually detracted from it. 
I also believe the dialogue and plot felt less polished and a little hokey compared to the first book. And the pacing sometimes felt odd - as though she didn’t want to explain some things.  Which is fine. It was still a fun read and hard to put down.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, War, and Rape

maresuju's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, War, and Grief

Minor: Racism and Xenophobia

fleur____'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Cursing, Misogyny, Blood, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Gore, Death, Genocide, Racial slurs, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Torture, and War

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Classism, and Alcohol

lettuce_read's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, War, and Racism

sahramahtab's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

I am so that sad that this series was limited to a duology. This was a stellar example of black excellence. I loved every second and the beautiful characters. Especially Ikenna and Darius. And I look forward to any of Davenports future projects.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Blood, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Death, Grief, and Blood