Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Voyage of the Damned by Frances White

6 reviews

e_read_books's review against another edition

3.75

A really well thought out murder mystery considering there were 12 characters each with pretty different magical abilities to keep track of over 12 days in a fairly large ship. There were multiple equally plausible suspects to keep the reader guessing and as such I couldn't be truly surprised when the killer was revealed but the motives and plans still had some unexpected twists.

I was worried in the first couple of chapters that Dee would be too annoying of a character for me to follow. I'll admit his humour did not always land for me, but his true depth is quickly revealed to us and he ended up being a really compelling character and a pretty good detective. I absolutely loved his relationship with little Grasshopper (truly Adorable Level 5/5).

Lowering the score for me is I didn't quite jive with some of the humour and also the conclusion, though it fits well with Dee's character arc. I'm just never going to prefer

Dee becoming the new Emporer "ruling the right way" over abolishing the system altogether. Though there was mention of independence later down the line

. However, the meat of the story i.e. the murder mystery was a great fun time and the differing character dynamics between the 12 heirs created plenty of opportunity for great dialogue scenes with lots of character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Self harm, and Death

Moderate: Murder, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Xenophobia

inkysplodge's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Murder, Self harm, Death, Classism, and Cursing

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Blood, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent, Fatphobia, Suicide, Vomit, Animal death, and Sexual content

mayas's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.5

I devoured this audiobook!!!! It was so fun. The tone, character, and comedy reminded me a bit of A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue (which I also devoured!). 

I loved the characters, especially Grasshopper :’) and i loved the (respective) commentaries on imperialism and connecting to others. I feel like Dee really grew over the course of the story, especially when it came to his relationship with himself and with others. I am proud of him. 

I wasn’t sure how I felt about the twist re the romantic lead. It took me a while to process and to think of “Wyatt” as really Ravi (I missed “Wyatt”!). Especially because I spent most of the book having negative feelings toward Ravi and Dee had seemed to get over him! But I pretty much made peace with it at the end. Wonder what my experience would be on a reread/listen!!!

Highly recommend the audiobook for this!!! The performance was GREAT. Wasn’t a fan of the narrator’s voice for Wyatt but was very happy with everything else! Also, the Spider Blessed’s voice really reminds me of Rachel Skarsten’s English accent, which was so ?!?! (you’ll know what I mean if you’ve seen Reign or the Hallmark movie where she’s a spy undercover as a nanny for the English royal family lol over Christmas).

Definitely recommend!!!!!!!!!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Chronic illness, Grief, Death, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, and War

sarahna's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Murder, Bullying, Chronic illness, Classism, Ableism, Blood, Suicide attempt, Fatphobia, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Body shaming, Confinement, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Vomit

ceredonia's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

Overall a great story. Took some time to get used to the 'modern' language in this type of setting. Some of the plots got a bit convoluted but it came together well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Grief, Bullying, Death, and Genocide

Minor: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Torture, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail

norarenate's review against another edition

funny 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? It's complicated

Got a proof copy at yalc. 
I loved this book from the start. The main character is a bit of a (likeable) loser. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Murder