Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

350 reviews

kiwij96's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Very YA-style writing at times, bordering on juvenile, but this book deals with some heavy themes which needed more mature writing. Definitely check the trigger warnings for this story because it deals with rape, torture, femicide, murder and gore. Generally good worldbuilding and differentiation between different cultures in this world. However, there was an unnecessary romance included and it felt massively out of place. Alao, there are only so many times you can read about girls getting dismembered and tortured.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexism, Violence, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Death, Misogyny, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Child death, Pedophilia, Bullying, and Pregnancy

decie's review against another edition

adventurous 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Abandonment, Animal death, Body horror, Violence, Sexism, Child abuse, Misogyny, Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, and Confinement

Moderate: Racism, Death of parent, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Rape

magnoliaash's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, War, Misogyny, Body horror, Gore, Grief, and Violence

nelldiaz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

Fantastic book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Torture, Body horror, Child death, Blood, Death, Violence, Misogyny, War, Child abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Rape, Sexism, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Vomit

brighgreen's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

1.5

I wanted to like this and I absolutely did not. Poor writing, no character development, confusing plot after no world building - you’re just thrown into a world that is immediately dismantled, multiple times. It’s all bad. 

The main character is so one-dimensional and flip flops ideologies and beliefs too quickly to follow. It’s like reading a 300 page panic attack and then suddenly she’s fully formed and confident. She’s so inconsistent that the whole book is rendered pointless. Not one character acts how a real human would; I understand this is fantasy but we’re still supposed to believe they’re real people, right?

And how is this book’s pace simultaneously too fast and too slow? I had no idea what was going on and yet it was somehow stupidly predictable??

The story could have been good - I could see myself caring about this world - it was just executed so poorly. I like what this book was trying to do (I’m always looking for diverse fantasy and strong female leads) but this ain’t it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Misogyny

viccgotmotion's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Minor: Vomit, Physical abuse, Genocide, Grief, Cursing, Death of parent, Blood, Sexism, and Violence

jessicaludden's review against another edition

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

3.5

“No matter my origins, there is worth in what I am.”

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Content Warnings

Minor: Torture, Child death, Death, Abandonment, Gore, Death of parent, Rape, Violence, Murder, War, Blood, Animal death, Child abuse, and Sexual assault

zombiezami's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Animal death, Blood, Misogyny, Child death, Child abuse, Mental illness, Abandonment, Colonisation, Death of parent, Trafficking, Body horror, Gore, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Grief, Hate crime, Police brutality, Slavery, War, Torture, Murder, Death, Sexism, Outing, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, and Stalking

Moderate: Excrement, Body shaming, Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Colonisation, and Vomit

colorism

clotalksbooks's review

adventurous dark inspiring fast-paced

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

4.0

Well I ordered the next book in the series as soon as I finished, so that says a lot! 

Just to say though, it is definitely more brutal than I was expecting, but then would have some moments that felt very YA. It felt a bit at odds, where sometimes I thought I probably would have enjoyed it more when I was younger, but then some bits I probably wouldn't have coped with if I was younger (I'm a tad squeamish). It took me a little bit to fully get on board with it, if I'm honest!

Despite these moments, I overall found it a very good read. I looked forward to picking it up to see where the story was going. Although I thought I had it all figured out, I was glad to be surprised by it. These surprises enhanced my enjoyment of it and the ending especially made me very keen to continue this series. 

I liked the range of characters, and look forward to spending more time with them. It is a fresh fantasy, exploring themes you'd expect to find in books/films like The Handmaid's Tale or The Woman King, and serving this to a new audience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Torture, Murder, War, and Violence

evelynyle_88's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Rape, Torture, and Sexual assault