Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

6 reviews

val_theburrowofstories's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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

From the very first pages I felt like I was in a dream with the way this book is written, I really like how this author was describing the setting and presenting the characters, besides the narrator has such a nice voice and it changed it for each POV… it was a full experience and from the beginning this was a 4 ⭐ for me!

This is a young adult book with fantasy elements and magic! Which is perfect for me, but if you’re looking for romance this isn’t it (like AT ALL, and I’m okay with that but I know it’s a deal breaker for some people), also, the fantasy is very low in the beginning but after a few chapters is there.

I liked Miryem from the second we met her, I don’t care if she’s “cold” or “ambitious” for others, to me she was caring for her family, doing the job, she was organized, really wise, not afraid of anything and always with a plan, proud of her religion and loyal to the people she loves until the very end. I just love her.

I was rooting for Wanda all the time, I just wanted her to be okay in the end, be free from her father, find her way and have a good and happy life. She’s such a hardworking girl, smart and quick learner, but overall she has a lot of courage and is ready to protect her family from anyone (even if it’s a demon or a scary King!)

Then we have Irina who I also came to love by the end. She looked weak in the beginning but she quickly adapted to her new reality, she was protective of her people and so brave. I just love women plotting, taking action, involved in politics, always with a plan and one step ahead!

I loved these girls so much! I’m tired of reading about girls who just go and do whatever without thinking, no plans, making things worse and not caring about the others. But Miryem, Wanda and Irina? They have such different backgrounds and yet their main qualities were being hardworking, really smart, brave and protective over their love ones. Honestly? I feel like that’s just me, in each girl I saw myself reflected and maybe that’s part of why I loved them.

When you are reading this book, I understand why some people might find it boring, but to me it was as if I was enchanted by it, so focus on the story and the characters with this beautiful writing. Besides the audiobook helped and I knew when the POV changed from one girl to another (or sometimes another character), it was so addictive and interesting.

So yeah, I don’t think this book is for everyone but I still recommend you give it a try if the premise sounds interesting to you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexism, and Child death

Minor: Sexual content

Here is a list of the content warnings and how is it that they’re present in the book, if you don’t want spoilers just skip this part:

Death of parent / Grief: Wanda lost her mother when she was eleven years old.

Child death: Wanda’s mother had a lot of babies but I think they died soon after being born or were stillborn.

Domestic abuse / Child abuse / Alcoholism / Violence: Wanda’s father was a really bad man, beating his three children for years and spending most of his money on alcohol.

Sexual content: There is just talk around the topic or slight mention of it, not explicit at all.

Misogyny / Sexism: Because Wanda’s father would just give her in exchange for a pig or alcohol. And there’s some other instances.

vonny3492's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

4.75

This books was so wonderfully written. It's been awhile since I read a YA Fantasy novel that is written with a folklore style and doesn't feel like a script for a movie. Such a wonderful read at the beginning of winter and loved all the hints to polish and Jewish folklore and culture!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism

Moderate: War, Religious bigotry, Violence, Sexual content, Sexism, and Misogyny

reclusivewanderer's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful slow-paced

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

4.0

The book is slow at the beginning and a little hard to get into. I did not find myself very interested in the story until 80-100 pages in (I really thought I should try it again later). But I pushed through and really fell in love with the book. The worldbuilding is very rich and the author does a very good job of setting the scene. Some of my favorite parts of the book were descriptions of the settings such as the winter road, the city, the Jewish section of the city, and the prince's bedroom. 
However, I did find some parts confusing such as the introduction of multiple POVs. The author does a good job of differentiating POVs through the writing, but there were a lot and, in my opinion, not all were necessary. There were a couple of parts of the book, particularly that I thought would have been better if told in the POV of one of the main characters and not one of the side characters. It would have allowed for additional insight into the main characters and what they were feeling in the moment. I think it also would have expanded on the relationships between certain characters which felt underdeveloped in some ways by the end of the book.
There is a little hint of romance in the book, but it is not one of the main focuses of the book. By the end, I was wondering how some of the relationships would work out and if they actually really liked each other. I was wondering why some characters suddenly had a change of heart all of the sudden. 
The magic in the book was very interesting, yet a little confusing. This book does not give straightforward answers on how a character is able to do what they do with magic. I also found it strange that the characters never stop and wonder how they are able to practice their ability of magic. It's more so, 'oh I can do this now" and then they just move on. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual content

kaziaroo's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

 I’ll begin by admitting I was disappointed in this book because I was hoping it would be like Uprooted (by the same author), which I enjoyed a few years ago, and given the rave reviews I was sure I’d enjoy it even though the blurb didn’t sound very interesting to me. And in the first half, I was optimistic; it was nothing like Uprooted, but I still held out hope that I could enjoy it because it was well written if a bit slow. My attention was wandering, but I was sure that as the plot progressed and I got more into it I’d be more interested. 

Unfortunately, the second half was only worse. By the time I was two thirds of the way through, I was thoroughly bored and couldn’t wait for it to end. I didn’t warm (pardon the pun) to any of the characters, and by the end I was sick of them. Unlike most reviewers, I enjoyed the unlabelled point of view (POV) transitions – that is, until the number of POVs kept increasing and I was dragged back to the perspective of side characters who had no reason to have so much time in the spotlight. None of the character relationships were convincing or fleshed out enough to be interesting, and the characters themselves were unlikeable. It seemed like no matter whose perspective was next, I was still disappointed. 

I also want to mention some more serious flaws in this book (avoiding spoilers as much as I can). This book tries very hard to make certain characters forgivable, even for horrible sins, making their sins not only forgiven but also forgotten as if they never did anything wrong. This makes the ending very uncomfortable as the author clearly wants you to believe that the characters will live happily ever after, but there’s just no precedent for this. Characters who hated each other (for good reason) throughout the book suddenly love each other with no build-up, further shattering any remaining suspension of disbelief. Everything is tidied up into a neat happy ending with no negative consequences, even when they are justly deserved. This left me feeling sour and unsatisfied. 

Despite this, I gave Spinning Silver three stars because it was still well written on a sentence level and the characters had distinctive voices (although I did forget who was talking halfway through a chapter once or twice, so maybe not always!), and the first half was decent. There were some nice domestic scenes which, while they slowed the book down, I found enjoyable to sink into. I’m now teetering between 2 and 3 stars, so who knows, maybe I’ll go back and edit this later after thinking further. On the other hand, I feel like I've spent more than enough time with this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Blood, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Animal death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism

Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

brianareads's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Violence, Sexual content, Antisemitism, and Acephobia/Arophobia

kathytwitch's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Another satisfying adult fairy tale style story from Naomi Novik, I think I liked this one better than Uprooted. 

This twist on Rumplestiltskin also has a Slavic slant, accented by a narrator with a Russian-type accent. Told in several voices, this story brings three young women together in a way that allows them to each triumph over their separate trials. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Sexual content, and Torture

One main character faces strong anti-Semitism, and her family fears to antagonize the townsfolk in any way, lest they be killed. One main character faces severe poverty and physical abuse by an alcoholic father, while her brothers suffer child abuse when they cannot hide. Starvation is a real threat to this family. One main character faces a very different trial, an arranged marriage to a powerful man who is possessed by a violent demon that is intent upon killing her, slowly and painfully. The poverty-striken family buried many babies under a tree, only to bury their mother there as well. There's abuse from the father of this heroine, and torture by his demon of another heroine's unwanted husband. Our third heroine is also subjected to an unwanted marriage to the powerful, hostile elven king. Both unhappily married women spend much of the book trying (successfully) to avoid the consummation of their marriages. When, at the end, events change both of the unwanted husbands, we are left to speculate about their happily ever after. While there are no bedroom scenes, there's plenty of talk about how to avoid what happens on one's wedding night.