Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Καντόρας: Οι γυναίκες που τραγουδούσαν by Caro De Robertis

44 reviews

kclark's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

This book had so much working in it's favor: queer female characters, queer author, friendships between women, Latin American lit... so it was a surprise this flat this fell to me. 

The language in the book is SO flowery that it is just exhausting, and I love flowery, poetic prose, but this was too much. It was as if the book was struggling to make itself more impressive but came off like a college student trying to say something profound on every page of the book. An example: "The water surrounded them, each wave sloshing forward with it's own wet, singular song, offering the pull of undertow and a brief respite from gravity." It would be fine, and perhaps effective, if this language was used sparingly, but it was constant. This propensity for the over embellished also has the effect of making the sex scenes seem like they were supposed to be sordid and poetic which made it feel like a cheesy romance.

The characters sometimes felt really well developed and crafted, but then immediately lose track of that character development and slip back into seemingly formulaic character archetypes.

Were I not reading this for a summer book bingo, I might have moved on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual violence, Death, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Suicide

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, and Infidelity

rubycb's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective slow-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

Graphic: Suicide, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Antisemitism, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, and Torture

danny_thereader's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, and Death of parent

marsh_wren's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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? No

4.75

So good. Deeply sad yet hopeful. I grew to love all of the characters in this novel. They each have their own stories and traumas that resulted from living under a dictatorship, but the bond they have and the progress that is made is captivating. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Suicide, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual assault

solenekeleroux's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Homophobia, Torture, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Police brutality, and Death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

lynneliu's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Lesbophobia, and Infidelity

Moderate: Police brutality, Sexual harassment, and Torture

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Medical trauma, and Racism

brynngaybee's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

One of the best books I've read in a while. Beautifully written with great characters and interesting subject matter. Great read!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Homophobia

Minor: Antisemitism, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

jessicaelisa's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Homophobia, Abandonment, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Police brutality, Alcohol, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Lesbophobia, and Medical trauma

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Torture, Miscarriage, and Alcoholism

lmaonice's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative sad slow-paced

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

5.0

I was initially very unsure what to rate this book. for the majority of the book I found it enjoyable but I felt a certain amount of distance from most of the characters. That is, until the last 2 chapters, in which I suddenly felt so attached that I sobbed throughout the last 30 pages or so. I think this book is a triumph, I think it balances the harsh reality of the setting with hopefulness and happy moments excellently, making it feel neither like wish-fulfillment nor torture porn. While there absolutely are horrific things happening in this book, it doesn't feel overdone for the sake of making the reader cry, it feel purposeful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Torture

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

lexi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad 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

Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Torture

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, and Abandonment

Minor: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Genocide

There are a lot of potentially triggering topics in this book, but it never felt like "torture porn" to me. It wasn't there to shock, it was there because these are real experiences people have.