Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

198 reviews

divine529's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

Don't let the amount of time it took me to get through this book fool you. I really enjoyed it. The thing about this book though, is it can be really difficult to read because of what the main character (Harrow) is going through for the vast majority of the book. 

This book takes place after Gideon, but it's told in two timelines (second person and third person). Harrow has just become a Lyctor and is adjusting to and learning all about the inner workings of what that means all the while she's struggling to adjust to that. It's hard to say more than that due to spoilers, but let's just say, it's a wild ride and it's best read right after Gideon (trust me on this). It's a fantastic book and very well written and done in a very unusual style (two timelines isn't unusual, but out of order, fragmented, multiple voices like this is - if you've read it, you know what I mean). The character relationships are complex and messy and so good. One thing I will say is the vast majority of the time I forget we're in space and on a ship. It just doesn't feel like it and when I'm reminded of that fact it takes me a minute to re-calibrate my thoughts (I felt the same way about the first book). All in all a fantastic book, albeit a rough one to read at times (please heed the content warnings). 

I can't wait to read "Nona" and continue with the series!  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Bullying, Gore, Medical content, Blood, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Vomit, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Genocide and Sexual content

Minor: Death of parent and Suicide

peppypenguin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

I was a bit nervous after the first book's ending, but the author knew exactly what she was doing. This book explores the universe more and gives the reader an understanding of the bigger picture. Action-packed but veeeery slow with the reveals so that when something does come to light it makes a big impact. Most are teased until the final quarter or so of the book, like a mystery novel where in the end you can see if any of your suspicions were right. The characters are fun and have a variety of shades of grey in terms of morality and relatability which keeps things unpredictable and interesting. I can't wait to continue reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Violence, Medical trauma, Body horror, Death, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Vomit, Grief, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, and Classism

vaguelyredhead's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, and Gore

Moderate: Vomit, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Cannibalism, Child death, and Sexual content

valerian_honeybee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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: Gaslighting, Suicide, Self harm, Murder, Gore, Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Grief, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence

Moderate: Medical trauma, War, Toxic relationship, and Stalking

Minor: Sexual content

radtj's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Blood, Genocide, and Bullying

winged's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Death, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Dysphoria, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Colonisation, Medical content, Body shaming, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, and Sexual content

Minor: Vomit, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Self harm, Bullying, War, and Injury/Injury detail

baileythebeagle04's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious

5.0

What the fuck did I just read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Blood, Body horror, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Chronic illness, Murder, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Genocide

Minor: Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

julesadventurezone's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

This is a book you really need to read at least twice to appreciate. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, War, Child death, Toxic friendship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, Toxic relationship, and Self harm

Minor: Eating disorder, Infertility, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Cancer, Incest, and Abandonment

ebp's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Self harm, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Blood, Body horror, Mental illness, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Bullying, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Gaslighting

Moderate: War, Classism, Cannibalism, and Cursing

Minor: Cancer

emalderwood's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

After the last book's ending I thought I'd need a while before reading this but the characters wouldn't get out of my head, so finally gave in. Even with my heartbreak from the previous book this sequel did NOT disappoint. It was somehow like reading a puzzle with constantly changing rules and pieces and with the same weirdness and humour I loved from the first book (albeit not *quite* as pronounced due to the circumstances). Tamsyn Muir's use of POV and other clues to build to the climax was the kind of creative boundary pushing I want more of in my reading, and absolutely brilliant. You may think you can predict what's coming, but then there will still be twists you never expected and still more twists you hadn't dared hope for but were executed like a surprise gift just for the reader. I have no idea where this trainwreck is going next but I'll be on the next train because after this second installment I trust Muir to bring it to a spectacular and amazing conclusion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, and Gore

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, War, Vomit, and Medical content

Minor: Suicide and Torture