Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Sistersong by Lucy Holland

47 reviews

kellyurban's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Transphobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and War

Minor: Deadnaming and Death of parent

carlybellesbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-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

Set in ancient Britain where Saxon invasion and sweeping Christian domination threaten to destroy the Old Ways of magic and the harmonious connection with the land. This is a retelling of an old folk ballad the Twa Sisters, we follow three siblings Riva, Keyne and Sinne, as they navigate the dangers outside their hold and within themselves. A coming of age story that leaves our three protagonists completely different versions of themselves by the end of the novel and left me yearning for that magical connection with the earth. Spanning one year of pagan sabbats, the novel begins at Imbolc. I would strongly suggest you don’t listen to the folk ballad before you read this to avoid spoilers because one of the plot points in this novel absolutely blew me away! Listen to it at the end and marvel at the variety of interpretations! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Blood

smallredboy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

4.5

Massive banger. I ended up feeling for all the characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

breq's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

My main complaint is that I was in it for the murder ballad and that doesn't actually hit until about 75-80% of the way in.  It felt like there was a lot of setup and the book didn't need to start that early.  But some of this may be because I'm already familiar with that setting and didn't feel like I needed much exposition.  I really liked how the

trans character was handled, with what felt like an accurate mix of acceptance and prejudice, without getting too "being trans is constant trauma" or too "magically accepting".  It's a balance a lot of writers miss, and I really prefer narratives that strike that middle area.  My immediate thought, at least, is that it was done well.  My opinion may change as I think about it.  I know some people prefer that trans characters are always gendered correctly in the narrative and never deadnamed, but I feel like there are times when that's necessary and as long as it's handled respectfully, it works.  I think it was handled well here.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Transphobia, Violence, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, and War

Moderate: Ableism, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

The trans character is misgendered and deadnamed both by characters and by the narrative. However, some of this is due to him not being out yet to certain characters, and him not choosing a new name until the end of the book. (In fact, at the start of the book, it is not immediately clear that he is a trans man because he is still coming to terms with it, at least in my interpretation.) A number of characters come around and gender him correctly as the book progresses. Some characters do not, which makes sense with the setting. Overall, I felt it was mostly well-handled, although I am not specifically a trans man myself.

mo345's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Cursing, Sexual content, and Alcohol

book_of_the_north's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring 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

4.0

Absolute gem of a book. Will stay with me for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

freagh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Deadnaming, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury