Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Blood Heir by Amélie Wen Zhao

7 reviews

witcheep'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I got more out of analysing the characters than from the plot; the plot doesn't offer anything very new to a reader who consumes a lot of fantasy. The magic system is built upon affinities of different kinds of magic and has the potential to be interesting, but unfortunately it is left somewhat vague. The big plot lines are quite predictable, but the smaller nuances and the intertwining of different plot lines is entertaining and at some points even surprising.

In the beginning of the book the main character Ana is an annoyingly naive, impulsive and irrational person who sees the world as black and white, divided clearly into good and evil. She has always regarded the world from the perspective of a vastly privileged aristocratic heir, which skews her thinking. Suddenly Ana is framed for the murder of her father, the emperor. Ana flees to avoid execution, but struggles to change her attitude and view of the world, even when her new position of no privileges forces her to face a whole new side to the world. I almost DNF'd the Blood Heir because how annoying Ana was, especially with her friend May.

Ramson's character is what saved the story for me and kept me reading. He is introduced as a crime lord, but it is revealed that he is actually more like a

henchman, altough high in the hierarchy, and comes from a more morally noble background

. His world views include thinking everyone as some shade of gray, the choises and actions defining people rather than them being just good or bad. It is a little disappointing that he isn't written as a properly bad character.

Ana and Ramson don't always get along, but they get friendly with each other in their own ways even if they make mistakes along the way. It is fun reading her and Ana's bickering. Ramson's views on gray morality and defining choises rub on Ana as well, and she begins to try to think for herself a little more (

and while doing so, slowly sheds the naivety and impulsiveness a little, yay!

). This impact to Ana is also resiprocated, since Ana makes Ramson question his morality and motivations as well. That is what I enjoyed the most in the book. I always seem to enjoy seeing characters having an impact in each other's way of thinking and acting, especially when it offers both of them something that makes them more contented with themselves.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Torture, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Grief, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, and Slavery

Minor: Death of parent and Sexual assault

singalana's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

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

2.5

This book has a great concept: a crown princess, accused of treason, has to work together with a crime lord to prove her innocence. The people in this world are divided into two categories: those who have no magic, and those who have magic - an affinity to a certain element. The main character - Ana - has no idea what life is like for those living with magic in her kingdom, and how her chosen companion, conman named Ransom Quicktongue plays into this status quo.

The main characters are exactly as you would expect them to be: a wilful princess and a silver-tongued criminal. As the story progresses, we get more and more glimpses into the past that shaped these characters into who they are today. Other than the two main characters, there’s a host of other characters, who all have a role to play in the story.

The story started strong with an interesting, action-packet setup. Unfortunately, I soon became tired of the structure of action packed chapters followed by slower chapters about the characters’ past. That was not the only thing I grew weary of, since these two can’t seem to stay out of trouble for two seconds. The author tried to pack so much action and so much emotion into every possible scene, especially towards the end, that it became tiresome.

I’m afraid that despite the interesting concept, the story tried to do way too much and piled on obstacle after obstacle. With better pacing and allowing the characters more time to breathe in the present timeline, this story could have been improved.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Medical trauma, Torture, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Abandonment, Alcohol, Death of parent, Murder, Slavery, Kidnapping, Chronic illness, and Fire/Fire injury

ghostlyprince's review

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Trafficking, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Blood, Child death, Child abuse, Grief, Hate crime, and Torture

Moderate: Abandonment and Kidnapping

Minor: Sexual violence and Confinement

sqacedvst's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Murder

Moderate: Death, Medical content, Violence, Trafficking, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, Gore, and Grief

gingerale06's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Torture, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

willow2709's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Slavery, and Murder

Moderate: Violence, Trafficking, Slavery, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping

Minor: Gore and Vomit

penofpossibilities's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

this seemed fun but it was honestly a chore to get through. It contained some promising elements, interesting tropes etc... The writing wasn't terrible but it still failed to deliver somehow? A few too many clichés, and some of the emotions didn't feel raw enough to me. Somehow I never connected enough to the mc to care about her grief and pain so it didn't struck any chords with me. I could easily call the plot twists as well so it didn't keep me on the edge of my seet. Maybe I'm just not the right audience for this (anymore)?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Trafficking, Violence, Torture, Murder, and Death

Minor: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Vomit