Reviews tagging 'Violence'

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar

424 reviews

bloomingbookworm's review

mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

Incredibly difficult to follow and understand. The war and two different sides are never explained. There is also no distinguishable differences between the two characters, writing style wise or even emotionally, which made it hard to remember which character’s point of view you were reading. You only get one brief physical description of one of the characters midway through the book, so I couldn’t even visualize the characters in my head. Adding half a star because I did enjoy some of the metaphors, however the purple prose didn’t make up for the lack of world building and character development. If you like ambiguity and books that are up to interpretation, you might enjoy this book, but it wasn’t for me. 

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide, Violence, Murder, Torture, and War

maddiearthur's review

challenging emotional inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Animal death, Violence, Death, Suicide attempt, and War

jen3699's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I loved it and I'm recommending it. It's short but a masterpiece. Every minute of this is used to create this beautiful love story. I love it.

The end is my favourite. It's crafted so beautifully and with such dedication. 

The idea of a love that you take into your being so literally, unconsciously and consciously. The type of love that consumes you and remakes you into something new for you and your partner. Beautiful.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Death, Gore, Violence, Genocide, and War

Minor: Grief, Miscarriage, Animal death, Infertility, and Abortion

monstrouscosmos's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

Characters: 10/10
Relationships: 10/10
Atmosphere/Setting: 9.5/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Plot/Intrigue: 9.5/10
Internal Logic: 10/10
Entertainment: 10/10
Overall: 68/70, 5*

I love epistolary novels, quantum time travel plots, and messy star crossed sapphic romances, so I figured from the get that I'd be really into this. and I was! I especially loved the ways the characters spoke with one another across timelines, and gave context for themselves as individuals, within their respective collective experiences, and within their shared relationship over time(s). the writing about writing was also really fun! there are definitely moments that delve into disturbing themes and events, but for the most part I found the tone stayed hopeful in belief for better circumstances. 

it's definitely something I need to relisten to (I feel like I missed a lot in my first run thru due to the narrative bouncing around quite a lot), but I'm so excited to revisit it! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Medical trauma, Torture, Abandonment, Colonisation, Animal death, Child abuse, Blood, Cannibalism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, Medical content, Self harm, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Gaslighting, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, and Stalking

Minor: Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Cursing

Graphic: spiders

book_benagachi's review against another edition

challenging slow-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? No

2.0

Smart, poetic and definitely a romance in that I don't feel like I have any real Idea of who each woman is or why they think they're in love with each other. Also, it doesn't actually show us how you lose the time was. Totally not for me. If you like smart references, poetic writing and zero character depth this is totally for you. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Animal death, Gore, Torture, Blood, Murder, and War

kajoreads's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad 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

3.5

It took me a while to get emotionally invested, which isn’t ideal when the book is only 200 pages long.

The last third was worth the wait though.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, Violence, and War

Moderate: Colonisation, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Torture

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, and Pandemic/Epidemic

holliscsmith's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

wow, this is beautiful. I'm not a big fan of scifi so I was skeptical in the beginning but the connection between Blue and Red really drew me in! Highly recommend to all types of readers :)

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

thecrimsoncorsair's review

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.0

Okay, so there's a very real possibility that I'm just dumb as fuck, and that's why I didn't understand this book. But I can typically follow an audiobook with no issues. Get into it like I'm reading a physical book. And be able to enjoy it. This book though... I was reeling from the very beginning. The author just kinda dumps you into the story without any kind of explanation as to what is going on or who these characters are. The book is pretty short as well. So I was a good chunk into it by the time I was even able to figure out what the plot was, and who the characters were. I was genuinely so lost. But I finished the story in one sitting because I was desperate to try to see if I could understand it more as it went along. And I never did. I was confused throughout. I have genuinely never been this bewildered by a book experience before. And I feel like I might need to re-read this physically to actually understand what I just listened to. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Xenophobia, and Violence

24carrotgay's review against another edition

emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

5.0

i would give this book 10 stars if i could!! it is hands-down the most beautiful story i have ever heard. i am in awe of how the story was so beautifully woven (pun intended) together. the love between red and blue is palpable. it is so deep and so vast that my arms get goosebumps and my eyes threaten to cry. i am left speechless. this book is everything. it will forever be one of my favorites.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Violence, Animal death, Death, Gore, Murder, and War

Moderate: Body horror and Confinement

Minor: Torture

rhi_'s review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Gore, Violence, and War

Moderate: Blood, Confinement, and Torture