Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi

33 reviews

mj_86's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Blood, and Slavery

Minor: Sexual content and Confinement

frankieclc's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Blood, Racism, Drug abuse, Violence, Self harm, and Addiction

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: War

porcupine_girl's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Drug abuse, War, Addiction, Blood, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Genocide, Violence, Body horror, Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Slavery, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual content, Child death, Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Medical content, Self harm, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, Ableism, Blood, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria

Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, and Fire/Fire injury

chrisb913's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

Please check TW.

I absolutely loved this book. At first, it was a bit slow-paced as there are some major themes that just throw you right into the mix (including drug abuse, graphic scenes of torture, elitism/caste system) that can really take you a minute to catch your bearings. On top of this, the author slowly builds out the world and magic system as the story progresses so it took me a minute to find a good rhythm. Once the pace picks up (maybe 10-15% in) I did not want to put the book down. The story follows three main characters (Sylah, Hassa, and Anoor) as they try to make it through life on an island amongst the last known civilization. I found the blood magic system to be incredibly unique while also mesmerizing and terrifying at the same time. The author has done a truly remarkable job providing us with an incredible world to learn about and I truly cannot wait to read the two other books in this trilogy 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Classism, Addiction, Sexual content, Slavery, Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, and Death

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Police brutality, Blood, Colonisation, Genocide, Classism, Death, Addiction, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Child death

Moderate: Alcohol, Confinement, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Vomit, and War

Minor: Bullying

thethingwithfeathers's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Slavery, Classism, Violence, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Addiction, and Drug use

Moderate: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Murder

Minor: Death of parent, Child death, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts

kendal_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Blood, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Ableism

Moderate: Sexual content, Classism, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

mar's review against another edition

adventurous slow-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

3.0

I enjoyed this, though not as much as I expected I would. There's a very fun subversion of the Chosen One trope, the worldbuilding is nicely done and with a couple very memorable elements, and the story incorporates and explores topics of oppression and class division well. 

What I struggled with was the immaturity of the characters, which made it feel too much like reading a YA novel 😭 I found they got on my nerves a lot, but with time I did get a bit invested in both the slowburn romance and Anoor's success in the Aktibar, so I guess it wasn't all that bad. (Also: I adore a deadly magical competition, and with how much time was spent training for each trial it would've been nice to spend a little more time on the actual events themselves).

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Drug abuse, Violence, Colonisation, Addiction, Murder, Slavery, and Death

Moderate: Child abuse, Gore, Grief, Ableism, and Torture

Minor: Sexual content and Body shaming

kylosten's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Xenophobia, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Slavery, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Violence

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Genocide, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

miraileah's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

4.0. Although this book started out not keeping my attention, I ended up becoming really invested in the plot and the characters stories. I’m not sure when I’ll read the next one, but I’m glad I kept with this book, for the themes of colonialism and making social change. I thought that (both Sylah and Anoor’s journeys to better understanding of what their ideal world looks like) was the best part of the book, and it was done excellently. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Violence, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Physical abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content