Reviews tagging 'War'

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

96 reviews

lizziaha's review against another edition

funny sad

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book had me wheezing with laughter at some points. It also had me scrambling, trying desperately to fill in the blanks in the story (most of my theories ended up being wrong).  The inclusion of the immortals in this story was delightful (even if the immortals themselves were not) and I thought that Mercymorn’s commitment to the bit about the infants was hilarious. It took me a minute to get used to the second-person voice that at least half of the book is written in, but ultimately I think it worked well for the story. There are these big intangible subjects that Muir never really talks about, but that permeate the entire story nonetheless. Love is one of those things, and the second person pov grabs a handful of that intangible quality and twists it and makes art of it, then hands it back to us as the readers. It’s not my typical beloved writing style that would focus more inwards, but it’s captured my heart anyway. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series. Original Rating: 4.75

Second Read: This book was IMMENSELY more enjoyable (and heart wrenching) the second go around. I’m frankly astounded at how much went right over my head on the first read. I should also say that it was remiss for me to spend so much of my first review talking about how funny it is. It IS funny, but it’s also so deeply sad that it’s hard to wrap your head around. There is so much grief at the forefront—the plot is necessary, but it”s driving force, at every point, is grief. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Minor: Self harm, Cannibalism, and Alcohol

iane_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense 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: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Eating disorder, Genocide, Sexual content, Suicide, and Cannibalism

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Dementia, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War

jodean's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War

erinoco's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Body horror and Abandonment

Minor: Death of parent

underabrig's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Dementia

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: War

meat_muffin's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Pregnancy

shadereads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Vomit, and Death of parent

Minor: Genocide, Medical content, Medical trauma, Colonisation, and War

tbd24's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

god i love middle books

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, and Injury/Injury detail

provo's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I knew before reading this that the plot would not make sense until 2/3 trough, so I was prepared for the confusion.
The finale was something else and bumped my rating from 4 to 5 stars, incredibly satisfying to unwind all the what-the-fuck-is-going-on.
But: check trigger warnings before reading, like there’s a lot of really graphic stuff.
Also maybe not a book anyone should read during an active psychotic episode (this is not a joke).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

persephonefoxx's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious slow-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

5.0

Why was I gaslit for three quarters of this novel? And why did I love it??

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror and Mental illness

Minor: Grief and War