Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

249 reviews

matcha_pages's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Torture, Misogyny, Blood, and War

Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence

bridgettetepper's review against another edition

adventurous 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

3.0

Some of the writing took away from the story (Repetitive lines, not much left for implication) but the character and story was cool enough to see past it. The beginning was hard for me to grab onto but a few chapters in and I saw the direction a bit better. Overall, nothing super surprising or unique but a good story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, Racism, and Death

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: War, Sexual violence, and Physical abuse

marketa_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, War, Sexism, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Grief, Rape, and Sexual assault

kallania's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Please read fully before judging:

I've read a lot of books in my lifetime and I've never almost put a book down so many times in my life... from the get-go this book was sickeningly violent.. the religion in the book was simply a way to oppress the women folk in the most drastic of ways.. the main character is viciously and cruelly tortured while being emotionally abused and used by her captors... it was everything I could do to get through the section as i felt sickened for her.. 

That being said when she's freed from her would be grave the story changes into a beautifully interwoven story of treachery, betrayal, and the fight for freedom.. I loved the book by the end and couldn't bring myself to ever put it down until I finished it and couldn't wait for the next one to be published. 

This book is not for the faint of heart, if you have led a traumatic life, or know those who have, been prosecuted for religious beliefs, or been oppressed by a religion you don't believe steer very clear of this book. Honestly, if your even the type to look away during violent scenes on TV don't read this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Torture, Kidnapping, Blood, Gore, Violence, Medical trauma, Misogyny, War, Hate crime, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Racism

genevievefv's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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? It's complicated

3.25

Such interesting concepts and ideas (also incredibly dark), but not perfectly executed. Happy I read it, but I don’t think I’ll continue the series - the writing just isn’t great at all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Blood, Grief, Death, and Sexism

Moderate: War, Rape, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Violence

demented_delights9448's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

This book is not at all what I was expecting. It's so much better! No matter your ethnic heritage or skin color, you will find a character that resonates with you. This book oozes female empowerment. It tackles every religion, cult, and political structure that has ever blamed women for simply being women. It calls out the oppression that women face on the daily, encourages women to be themselves, and gives credence to our struggles, voices, bodies, and dreams. This is the book to have your teenaged daughters read. 

It has a decent pace, plenty of mystery that resolves, endearing characters, action, witty dialogue, and thoughtful exposition on top of believable world building. It can be a little dark emotionally, tackles very difficult topics, but is hopeful. At no point does this book blame all men as being oppressive. This is a book about equality for all: all genders, all faiths, all ages, all races, all sexualities. Romance is there but it's very low-key and it speaks encouragingly of all walks: from lesbianism to maintaining virginity to young men who don't want to hump every female thing in sight. 

It's a beautiful story set in a beautiful world with beautiful women and men battling it out against pure, unadulterated evil. There's even a dragon. What's not to like?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Genocide, Blood, Sexism, Misogyny, War, and Murder

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Child death, Body shaming, and Rape

Minor: Racism

Regarding content warnings, this book is not promoting such things. The author is drawing attention to them, illuminating these things as the difficult or downright heinous things that they are. This is a book for girls to learn that their voices are valuable and worth hearing. Surround yourself with people who value you as the living beings that you are. Value yourself.

serenhybrid's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

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

2.0

I really wanted to like this book but it just fell utterly flat! It's written by a black female author, and centers on a culture very different to my own, which I would normally love and relish! It's meant to be about feminism and defeating the patriarchy, but parts of it read more like torture porn. There was an almost gratuitous focus on some of the horrific things that happened to the characters, and only the merest lip service paid to the effect it has on them. 

For me, this book perpetuates the troubling narrative that trauma makes women stronger, that their suffering is somehow noble and that every terrible thing was worth it because it made them better people. This is false, and troubling to read in a book that purports to be feminist. Frequently, I wondered if this was written by a man! The characters made no sense, had very little internal logic and just seemed to be devices to push forward a plot with a clear agenda. The story somehow moves both too fast and extremely slow. The ending is just awful, huge amounts of exposition and back story pushed into about 5 pages. I don't like any of the characters and I have no investment in the world or outcomes. 

This has so much promise, but the writing is just not good enough to support the ideas.  requently , an idea was planted and then resolved just a page or two later. This lead to a serious dearth of tension and anticipation. I wish the whole book was the trilogy, so we could explore the world and characters a lot more, and so some of the later plot twists were slightly more built up to. I just can't recommend that anyone reads this book, especially if they have experienced any trauma. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Death, Misogyny, Genocide, and Sexism

Moderate: Child abuse and Rape

Heavily implied detail of a 13 year old girl being raped and tortured for many years, with no comfort or rescue

thatssotamara's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring tense 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, War, Misogyny, Murder, Genocide, Death of parent, Torture, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexism, and Physical abuse

lovelybubbles's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Rape, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Sexual assault, Confinement, Death of parent, Vomit, Misogyny, Blood, and Child abuse

bubbabook's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

Th Gilded Ones is a dark fantasy novel, with diverse world building, complex characters, and an enticing mystery to unfold. Forna has written a compelling world, with a deep lore and yet I would say that the greatest achievement of this book is the real life truths that Forna has explored. This book is dark and violent, and does not shy away from depicting the brutal and shameful treatment the women of Otera face. Deka is our heroine and also a stand in for women in the real world. Without giving any spoilers, this book was a delight to discover- “We who are dead salute you!”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Body horror, Death, Torture, Child abuse, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Violence