Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Wicked and the Willing by Lianyu Tan

5 reviews

sofipitch's review

dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.5

This book is both indulgent and intelligent. It also handles themes of colonialism, race, and abusive relationships, while also still being an entertaining horror erotica? I feel like nothing captures the way the book toes the line than the fact that there are two endings, you can chose how you'd want it to end. I feel like the ending with Verity is how the book would end, while the Po Lam ending is the fanfic fix it ending 😂 Well written and made with a lot of love

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Racism, Sexual violence, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Colonisation, and Classism

readsbymoonlight's review

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Torture, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicide, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Sexual violence

Minor: Pedophilia, Child abuse, Classism, and Drug use

readwithbells's review

I feel like Lianyu Tan wrote a historical fiction paranormal book and someone told her no one would read it without a lot of sex so it became a mediocre dark romance. It’s more dark than it is romance, the romance itself isn’t fun because no one is enjoying themselves (Verity literally can’t even experience sexual pleasure), and the main character loses her entire sense of self before the halfway mark and not for plot! She just becomes vapid, a little stupid, and very passive where she opens with so much depth and intellect. It’s so weird because the setting of Singapore in the 20s is incredibly rich and the vampire lore feels unique and well thought out. I was so engaged in the first half and it really fell off, idk I just don’t care how it ends and the sex isn’t sexy enough to carry me through. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Rape

Moderate: Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism

happily_undignified's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The Wicked and the Willing by Lianyu Tan is a dark fantasy sapphic romance set in Singapore in the 1920s. It is very adult and should be read only after checking out the content warnings. There are tons of them including SA, racism, classic, DA, gore, and violence. The main character, Gean Choo, Is caught in a love triangle between Verity, a. Powerful vampire and Po Lam, her majordomo. As the book progresses, we learn more about Verity's motivations and how Gean fits into everything. The world building in the book is very gothic and surreal. The mansion sounds like something straight out of interview with the vampire. This book is gratuitously, violent and definitely a good read for people who are a fan of gore and horror.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, Racism, Classism, Colonisation, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Blood, Domestic abuse, Rape, Murder, and Sexual assault

thesapphiccelticbookworm's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-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

4.5

Thanks to the author and Netgalley for a copy of this book.

This dark, sapphic horror takes us to 1920s colonial Singapore. 

Gean Choo starts a new job as a lady's companion for Verity Edevane, who unbeknownst to her initially is a vampire. Gean Choo falls hard for Verity, and also for Po Lam, Verity's majordomo. This love triangle is unique in that, we the readers get to make the chose for Gean Choo, with two different endings.

I loved the historical setting of colonial Singapore which isn't something often told in literature.

Horror isn't something I usually go for, but I throughly enjoyed the darkness and steamy of this book. Giving two alternative endings is a great way for the author to keep all readers satisfied.

I certainly preferred the second ending.

The length of this book ensured we got plenty of time to feel for each character and understand some of their motives. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be checking out some of the author's other work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racism, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Vomit, Colonisation, Death, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Bullying

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia