Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Rosalera by Tade Thompson

8 reviews

mine_gerber's review against another edition

dark funny tense slow-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Police brutality, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Infidelity

Minor: Homophobia and Stalking

maricasement's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I have conflicted feelings about this book. I went into it knowing only what was written on the blurb and was really excited for the story. The story is told in first person and as the main character (Kaaro) was introduced I got even more excited because I thought they were an interesting, if a bit misogynistic, female character. Alas, Kaaro turned out to be an arrogant and irritating misogynistic male character. My dislike for him was increased by being immersed in his inner thoughts and his obliviousness to his faults. However, I do understand why the author made the choice to use the first person perspective as it becomes more relevant and important in setting the scene as the book progresses.
Because of my dislike for Kaaro, the first half of the book dragged. There was a lot being set up at the start as well, and this meant that the book took a while to grip me. Once the book revealed an awareness of Kaaro's faults and the mystery started to take shape, I started enjoying the book a bit more. Don't get me wrong, Kaaro is still a character I dislike, but the other (female) characters, the plot and the world building now have me hooked.
I will probably read the next in the series, as it seems to be told from a different character's perspective and I would love to learn more about the world Tade Thompson has crafted.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Terminal illness, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Excrement, Gore, Kidnapping, Body shaming, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and Misogyny

Moderate: Miscarriage, War, Vomit, and Emotional abuse

internationalreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Drug use, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Grief, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Murder, Police brutality, Violence, Torture, War, Body horror, Excrement, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Classism, Blood, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders

sprigofjuniper's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective 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? N/A

5.0

rosewater is the first installment in tade thompson's wormwood trilogy. The story is set in nigeria in 2066, and it follows the protagonist kaaro, an agent for section 45 of nigeria's secret government. kaaro is a sensitive, meaning he can access a dimension called the xenosphere in which he reads people's thoughts. each chapter follows kaaro during different influential chapters of his life, from first discovering his abilities to his current work with S45. there's a lot of jumping around, but it isn't confusing; the time skips add context and backstory when we need it, so we aren't overwhelmed by chronology. the story was engaging, and I never felt bored while reading. i wouldn't say kaaro is loveable, but I grew to admire and respect him throughout the book. he's relatable and funny though very private. i loved experiencing how romance influenced his attitude and outlook. i can't wait to get my hands on the next book! 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Drug use

Minor: Vomit, Torture, and Infidelity

skudiklier's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This book was super interesting! I had a weird experience reading it because I did so very slowly and deliberately, which is unusual for me. It was somewhat dark and not entirely what I expected. But I hope to read the rest of the trilogy eventually!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Confinement, Drug use, Excrement, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Xenophobia

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Car accident, Child death, Colonisation, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Transphobia, and War

sarah984's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

This is a really unique alien invasion story set in Nigeria in the 2060s, in a city that has built up around an alien biodome that mysteriously heals the sick once per year. The alien has also released a sort of spore into the atmosphere that allows some people to access special abilities like mind reading. The main character is a psychic who (mostly unwillingly) works for the government. His perspective is awful because he's an immature misogynist, but the story itself and the nature of colonization that it exposes are interesting.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Ableism, Cannibalism, Cancer, Drug abuse, and Slavery

kylieqrada's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I'm waffling between a 3.5 and a 4 ⭐s on this one. It is a fascinating and wholly original start to a sci-fi series set in Nigeria and following a biological alien lifeform that changes the makeup of Earth itself???? And then there's like people with telepathic powers???? And spy stuff???? And government conspiracies???? And I loved it???? The writing style was definitely different, it took a bit for me to get used to it. Also our MC is not the most likeable of bros. But overall, I enjoyed this immensely and will be continuing the series and reading more from Tade Thompson.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Torture, and Violence

horizonous's review against another edition

There are only so many orgasms - by the male MC, just for clarification; the women in this book only seem to exist in terms of his sexual satisfaction or for him to disrespect them - and descriptions of breasts and mentions of vomit I can read about before I call it quits.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Sexism

Moderate: Blood, Excrement, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Vomit

Minor: Animal death and Misogyny