Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

95 reviews

scrubsandbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

This was a reread but was just as impactful the second time around. This was also the first book I had read (when this book first came out) that had a list of triggers at the very beginning of the book and honestly, we stan an author who wants to protect their readers. Please be mindful of those triggers when reading the book.

Considering the story of the FMC being taken away from her family to be one of my concubines to a vicious leader, it was a dark read and often difficult to get through but the love story was searing and gut-wrenching. The world-building was immense and the plot was engaging. I cannot wait to see this story continue and eagerly hoping the patriarchy falls apart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexism, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Rape

Moderate: Homophobia, War, and Death of parent

starr27's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Violence, Animal death, Rape, and Sexual violence

Minor: Infertility, War, Death of parent, and Adult/minor relationship

pandemonicbaby's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

3.0

I was really hoping I'd like this book more. I mean, a forbidden romance between two girls who fight against an oppressive system in search for a future where they can be together??? Sign me up!! I thought I was going to LOVE this. Instead, I just felt kind of lukewarm about it.
And don't get me wrong, I think it's SO important how we are in a time period where we're able to have bestselling YA stories with central queer storylines, stories that deal with the theme of sexual assault but focus on the victims' journeys of healing, presenting these themes in a respectful way to a younger audience. I've been having an unfortunate streak with this type of thing lately, and 2 of the last books I've read have had explicit rape scenes which made me greatly uncomfortable. I was really shocked when this book (a YA novel) had the best, most respectful depiction of it out of the 3, and handled the topic with care, moreso than any of those other books I've read. It didn't have to describe it in detail to be impactful, and fully focused on the victim's feelings afterward.
That being said, otherwise, I think this book maybe wasn't exactly for me. People who know me know I LOVE sapphic romance, and will eat up basically anything, but this romance just felt sort of rushed and not really impactful. I wasn't really excited to see them finally kiss or confess their feelings to eachother like I usually am with any sapphic couple I read about. It just felt a bit, I don't know, spiceless, saltless, like the taste of food that you usually really love but in this specific casw it just feels bland. And I don't really think it has to do with the characters themselves, but more with the way the romance was written. Also, I don't know exactly why, but I felt like I didn't really enjoy the writing style. I'm not sure what I felt was lacking in it, but I just wasn't really digging it all that much.
Also, originally, I thought all castes were human, and had NO idea there were gonna be furries in this LMFAO. That *did* make the scenes with the king especially unbearable, though, and I feel like that was probably the intent.
Anyways, it wasn't really for me, but I really do hope that some readers are able to find something they love in this book. I just really really hoped I would love it too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Classism, Death, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Police brutality, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Death of parent, Genocide, Lesbophobia, Racial slurs, War, Grief, and Outing

Minor: Alcohol, Body horror, and Infertility

Unconsensual sexual acts are mentioned various times in this book, some particularly violent. There is one explicit rape scene in this book (albeit not described in detail).

kemikemi'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? No

3.25

This book has an interesting world and premise, and I will be honest I’m writing this review about a month after I finished it, but when I sat down I was hard-pressed to remember anything about it for a couple minutes. Unfortunately I wasn’t too invested in the main romance between Wren and Lei; I loved that it was sapphic relationship representation and the unique concept of two consorts falling for each other had me greatly anticipating, but something about the way the author wrote it from Lei’s pov didn’t strike with me…I also wished that we had gotten more time with their friendship and bond developing before it becoming romance/attraction. Our main character’s relationship with Aoki was super interesting, though, and I enjoyed seeing it shift throughout the book. This was a fun read, although based on where it leaves you hanging at the end with the last little twist I’m not entirely sure I’m set on reading/finishing the next book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Murder

sarah_sedai_blueajah's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Rape

Moderate: Death of parent

kairrakat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Sexual violence

Moderate: Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Rape

cass_ward's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Death, Grief, and Kidnapping

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Confinement, Blood, and Abortion

the dog dies< / spoiler>

taliees's review against another edition

adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Rape, Animal death, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

allyreadsstuff's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Murder, Classism, Trafficking, Sexism, Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Slavery, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Lesbophobia and Confinement

Minor: Vomit

carinaa_khl's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Animal death, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Rape and Kidnapping

Minor: Death of parent, Slavery, Homophobia, and Alcohol