Reviews tagging 'Violence'

That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams

17 reviews

rorikae's review

adventurous 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

4.5

'That Self-Same Metal' by Brittany N. Williams is an exciting YA historical fantasy that brings the Fae into Shakespearean England. 
Joan works behind the scenes for The King’s Men, Shakespeare's theater company. She is a skilled craftsperson but she also has the gift of being able to manipulate metal. In this version of Shakespearean London, magic abounds through connections with the Fae world and with Orisha. The human and Fae have lived in relative harmony but Fae attacks are on the rise. Joan gets pulled into the upheaval after she saves the son of a well-off man. But what is causing these issues and how can Joan help to set them right? 
Williams has created an engaging world that takes the reality of Shakespearean London and injects it with a little bit of magic and Fae political intrigue. Joan is instantly likable and it's both fun and fascinating to follow along on her adventures. A historical note at the end helps to showcase how Williams seamlessly weaves the reality of that time (including real people) with magical worldbuilding. I also really appreciate how she pulls on Shakespeare's plays to fill out the Fae lore. This is an excellent start to a new series and one that I will definitely be following. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Racism

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Misogyny

avacadosocks's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism

Moderate: Death, Blood, Violence, Cannibalism, and Gore

Minor: Alcohol

heather667's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted 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: Child death, Death, Violence, Sexism, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gore, Racism, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol and Misogyny

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Animal cruelty, and Sexual assault

eternallyicarian's review

adventurous inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.75

 

So a fun fact about this book is that when I was at a Leigh Bardugo book signing early this year, she recommended this book to the people there. So naturally, I requested it on NetGalley once I saw the audiobook, despite it being a form of reading I am not yet accustomed to. However, despite it taking me a lot longer to read than a book typically takes, it was a great book. I loved reading about all of the characters, and I am very glad that this book did not fully fall into the all-to-common trope of making William Shakespeare himself a fraud, although the character is definitely a real person. The book also does a good job of acknowledging the racism of the times and condemns it without holding these characters to today’s morals in the way that a lot of books do.Also there is a queerness and not just for the fae, for everyone, as I have a personal hatred for when the fae are queer in a way that seems as if they are queer to distinguish them as something other than human, as opposed to showing queerness as a human trait. I mean, the fae are still equally queer which is also good, but it's everyone this time. There is also a high chance that the books may end with the main character in a polyamorous relationship, so I am really excited for that. 

 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Cultural appropriation, and Violence

amobrien's review

adventurous 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? No

3.75

I loved the combination of Shakespeare literature and fantasy in this YA debut about a sword-fighting bisexual Black girl in historical London. There is a love-triangle of sorts that provides some romance to this read, but I honestly preferred the relationship between Joan (the main character) and her twin brother. Overall, this was a great debut and I look forward to the continuation of the series!

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Violence

knlipke's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I enjoyed reading this book so much!! The story is unique, while tying in old tales of fae and the Orisha. I love Joan, James and everyone else! They’re great characters.
The ending was kind of abrupt. I understand there to be more books in the future of this series; however, it was just a little rushed for me. But the twist at the end was great!
Overall can’t wait to read more in the Forge and Fracture Saga

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Death, Murder, Blood, Racism, and Racial slurs

levesc17's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.75

This book had a lot to love, first and foremost, you can really feel the author’s love of Shakespeare shine through. There’s also: a girl with a sword, a bisexual love triangle, and magic! The plot had all the puzzle pieces that grab me.  I felt that pace moved too briskly for me to really settle with the main characters internal dilemmas and the plot twists a bit predictable (because honestly teenagers are predictable, why don’t they communicate with their parents?!) HOWEVER, I am an adult reader and I am not the intended audience. I will happily gift this book to any middle school or high school reader in my life.  I read an arc of this from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Racial slurs, Violence, and Sexism

one thing that I didn’t understand was once they figured out the uncle was in the Tower of London, why didn’t Mama sands just use her portal power to get in there? Also, I got sort of frustrated we never found out WHAT the ritual Baba Ben was supposed to do? Last thing. How does Joan a girl of 16 in 1604 get to be so much a good sword fighter? Is that ability part of the magic? It was unclear to me how a young girl could be a expert fighter and I wanted a little more backstory!