Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Black Queen by Jumata Emill

4 reviews

readtomea97's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

I can genuinely say this book threw me a bunch of curveballs. Every time I thought I figured it out, something new was presented and threw me off track. I had a hunch from the beginning who would be at fault but I let a lot of the other details get me off track. I was punching the air mad at Tinsley’s mom, mean girls Giselle and Lana, and everyone who did Nova wrong throughout this book. Thank goodness for closure and learning to unlearn the bad habits you’ve been taught.
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haley49's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad 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

3.5

I really wanted to love this book more than I did. The premise was great and the mystery was amazing. 

However, having a book advertised as the black queen and having her be murdered and then centering her self-centered white counterpart was a disservice. If it was marketed as a girl coming to terms with her internalized racism while attempting to find out who really killed her rival for queen would have been much more honest and engaging. Instead there is a focus on a rushed redemption arc for our main character with a side plot of the victim’s painful backstory. In the end I understand and like our fmc but I feel so bad for the victim and her story gets used a bit for another’s character development. 
On the other hand, Duchess’s character was really interesting. I just wish we saw a bit more of her. It was advertised as her book!
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aformeracceleratedreader's review

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dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.5

This wasn't bad, but it wasn't what I was hoping for and I wouldn't say it was good. I liked the reveal of the killer. I didn't care to follow Tinsley for the majority of the book. It was a story with potential but the execution, with the exception of the reveal, was quite meh for me. It was so focused on the redemption of the white girl (and the scandals of the white people in the book) I feel it lost what should be one of the takeaways- black girls/women being the victims of society and how everyone needs to do better so it doesn't keep happening. So would've preferred more focus on the black characters.
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avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.75

This was a great book. For once the person I suspected of being the murderer wasn't the murderer, none of my suspects were. And most of what I'd figured out was kinda flipped a bit at the end. I was still right on some parts but not most of it. 

I really liked how Tinsley finally figured out that you don't have to be overtly racist to be racist. And how Duchess and her friends didn't take any of her shit. The characters weren't all lovable but they were real, which I think is more important. They weren't all horribly unlikable either which is something that would have made me put down the book immediately. 

Overall an amazing book! With two excellent narrators.
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