Reviews tagging 'War'

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

161 reviews

rubybereading's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

OMG!! Wow wow wow!! This was intense. This took me almost a full month to finish because I was reading a few other (very much LESS intense) books at the same time. Turns out, those other books served as perfect palate cleansers in between all the heavy subject matters, plot, and character treatment and especially character BUILDING of the more relevant characters of the book. This book shocked me! 

I thought it was going to be very mid based on the first few chapters. Midway through, I was intrigued and enjoyed the story, thinking it was a very solid book that still left much to be desired. So, I paused reading this for a few days (a few separate times) and instead spent those times starting and or finishing a few other books that were, again, much less 

"intense". Maybe I'm a lightweight. Idk. But this book was A LOT for me (first it was the colorism shoved down our throats in the first chapter, the plot jumps throughout, and then the torture and treatment the girls were going through, the heavy subject matter, the gore, etc). I ended up deciding to finish it JUST to get it over with so I could move on (since I'm trying NOT to DNF any books). And then, MY GOD (!!!). Somewhere after the halfway point, it took me to a whole nother REALM! This book turned me every which way but loose gotdamnit! And it left me wanting MORE! This book could've and probably SHOULD'VE been twice as long. That's part of my only slight criticism: there were time lapses throughout the story where the reader is just given the basic gist of what happened during the lapses instead of making it a part of the plot. The whole "telling us instead of showing us". It would've been nice to be able to read more of the character growth, experiences that enhanced her abilities, growth in strength and self-esteem, etc. Instead, there were multiple points in the story where we're told days, weeks and even months went by and something significant happened or occurred to the main character, and then the story would just continue from there. I would've preferred reading about it in detail, and definitely would not have minded if the book was even twice as long in order to do so. And I would've had to be literally peeled away from the pages! That would've made this book perfect! Still, it's a 5* for me! Having the palate cleansers and the short breaks definitely made this a better read for me though. Nonetheless, 5 star! 5 star! 5 star!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexism, Gore, Torture, Body horror, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Misogyny, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Bullying, and War

Minor: Sexual violence, Rape, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment

dr_steph's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

I think the overall plot of this novel was interesting and there were some really great concepts. But unfortunately lots of things felt underdeveloped and rushed (especially towards the very end). The main character experiences a fundamental belief system change, and yet this change happens in a very choppy and sudden way rather than gradually building. There was lots of telling instead of showing, and in my opinion this manuscript needed further editing and development. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, War, Physical abuse, Blood, Confinement, Murder, Torture, and Misogyny

Minor: Racism, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Vomit

corngod31's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring 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

4.25

Slow start but got better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Sexism and Sexual assault

Minor: Rape

jachnax's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book is so powerful, lush and thought out. I loved every page, every sentence and i will immediatly pick up the sequel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Confinement, Deportation, Genocide, Violence, Misogyny, Torture, War, Blood, Murder, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gore, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, Bullying, Sexual violence, and Body horror

Minor: Animal cruelty, Xenophobia, Self harm, and Rape

ctara2123's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death, War, Violence, Torture, Sexism, Murder, Misogyny, and Blood

Moderate: Racism, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual assault, and Bullying

ainadei's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense 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? It's complicated

4.75

This book was insane from beginning to end!! I enjoyed most of the characters and I can't wait to see how Deka and her friends grow in the next books. The weak thing about this book was the romance; I just didn't see it between her and Kaita in this book and I felt Deka needed friends more than a romance. All around though, a really great book and I will be reading the next two soon!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Torture, and Misogyny

Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual assault

decie's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Abandonment, Animal death, Body horror, Violence, Sexism, Child abuse, Misogyny, Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, and Confinement

Moderate: Racism, Death of parent, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Rape

magnoliaash's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, War, Misogyny, Body horror, Gore, Grief, and Violence

mojoelvial's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring mysterious 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

3.5

Fun! A mysterious adventure tale in a high fantasy world with world mapping, creatures, and societies. The world rules were well understood by the reader. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty and War

nelldiaz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

Fantastic book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Torture, Body horror, Child death, Blood, Death, Violence, Misogyny, War, Child abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Rape, Sexism, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Vomit