Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Faithless: Magic of the Lost, Book 2 by C.L. Clark

9 reviews

aseel_reads'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

4.25

I think the writing was better than this one and the plot was a bit clearer, hence the higher rating but otherwise, I liked our main characters and their dynamic is interesting. Keen to see what happens next 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Torture, Vomit, Gun violence, War, Abandonment, Murder, Violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Xenophobia, and Slavery

cameronreads's review against another edition

4.0

I’m really liking this series so far. I understand why some people may not like it; I feel like people might find this book in particular quite boring, as it’s mostly political, but I really enjoyed it. I really love exploring these complex characters and the moral questions that come into play, especially when it comes to a retribution arc. I think the relationship between our two main characters is so intriguing, and I love how slow it burns. I like the discussions it brings up about colonialism and racism, and I think the representation in all areas, especially the Black, sapphic and disability rep, is great. I would have liked it if Pruett and Fili’s points of view were developed a bit more, as I often forget they existed and was surprised when they came up again, and therefore wasn’t very invested in them as characters or their little sections of plot. This did feel a little like a filler book, with a degree of second book syndrome, but I still really enjoyed it and can’t wait for the final instalment I’m the trilogy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Alcohol, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Blood, Colonisation, and Gore

Moderate: Gun violence, Vomit, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, and Ableism

Minor: Death of parent, Racial slurs, and War

theirgracegrace's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

This second instalment of the Magic of the Lost has magic, romance, and intrigue galore. Luca is desperately trying to get one step ahead of her xenophobic uncle Nicolas, who threatens to dismantle all of her work with the Qazāli and take the throne from her. Touraine is now an ambassador to the Balladairan court and has to once again navigate a world where the colour of her skin makes her a target. And Pruett desperately tries to form solidarity between her ragtag soldiers and somehow overcome the Balladairan forces in Masridān across the river from Qazāl. An incredibly powerful and heart-wrenching sequel that deals with themes like colonization and identity with flair. Beyond excited for the third instalment!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical trauma, War, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Police brutality, Torture, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Cursing, Racism, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Vomit, Addiction, and Excrement

Minor: Ableism and Cultural appropriation

eegekay's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Colonisation, War, Medical content, Gun violence, Ableism, Death, Physical abuse, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racism, and Classism

Moderate: Cannibalism and Drug use

lbelow's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Colonisation, Blood, Sexual content, Cursing, and Alcohol

Moderate: Gun violence, Murder, Gore, and Death

Minor: Vomit and Torture

alexalily's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, and Death

Moderate: Child death, War, Cannibalism, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Confinement, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol, Kidnapping, Racism, Torture, Grief, Animal death, Slavery, and Cursing

rjtheodore's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, War, Vomit, Alcohol, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Sexual content, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

purrson's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

I received this as an giveaway (ebook) ARC, and took my time with it. I enjoyed this installment in the Magic of the Lost series better than the first, but that’s not a dismissal of how good the first book is. They both are incredibly difficult to put down, and deliciously queer. 

While The Unbroken (which is told through either Luca or Touraine’s eyes) is heavy with the work of laying down foundations and building rich, complex characters trying to survive constant complex trauma—and adds beautiful world-building, magic, and cultures that feel familiar but are different enough to be fantastical—it never flinches from the depth and breadth of colonialism and all the harm it brings. The Faithless builds well on that base, so when our main characters are far from home we still feel the pressures of those strong personalities and the vibrant homeland counting on their success. That’s helped along by shifting the perspective throughout the book more frequently than The Unbroken; while we’re still mainly given the story through Luca or Touraine’s perspectives, at times The Faithless gives Aranen, Pruett, or even Fili the lead, and we’re privy to their thoughts and feelings. Those shifts help The Faithless’ plot feel as if it moves faster, as it introduces more moving parts without sacrificing any depth or detail. The machinations our protagonists work to uncover and survive are constantly spinning, even on the last page, which just builds my excitement for Book 3. The villains are both straightforwardly evil but are also unreliable narrators throughout; they present different faces to different characters, but there’s also a sense that things are going on behind their closed doors even we have yet to see. Some things they’ve hidden are revealed by the end, but some threads aren’t connected, some mysteries left unsolved for now.

Fili’s experiences with the Fingers, for example, provoke questions of their backing—who’s giving them orders? How do they know where to attack Luca’s carriage on its return from Champs d’Or? Why is Luca’s abdication not enough for them, that they must assassinate her too?  Between her quest for the lost religion and the stability she brings to Qazāl’s independence—not colonization, motives abound. When Fili’s master brings them hot chocolate after our MCs only experience it with Ghislaine Bel-Jadot—which  she says Evrard De Travers gave it to her—it’s a clue one of them is involved. Which of them are the key to the Fingers, and are they working on orders from the Duke? I felt sorry for Fili, who’s drenched in naïveté and such an easy mark given her mother’s former career. As eager as she is to prove herself, she’s clearly taken advantage of, and has no idea the Princess she hates would protect her gift with their god, or that she is key to protecting the Qazāl. Just as her master’s assurances of allying with Qazāli ‘later’ ring false to the reader, we don’t know how assuaged she is by them. She brings another point: the religion. While Bel-Jadot’s explanations make sense, the murder of children seems at great odds with Fili’s experiences and even Touraine’s use of blood in healing Luca. Jadot’s claims seem more in line with the darker use of magic, using death to get your aims met, instead of just blood. There must be enough blood involved with using scythes in the harvest (just as Pruett is nipped by the vulture), that such measures aren’t truly necessary—we never catch wind of the Many Legged regularly feeding children to their animals, for instance. And for as much as the Duke has ensured the Balladaire god won’t be fed, the connection of the grain and the Withering says otherwise.

This series is truly shines at representing the constant onslaught of colonialism and violent white supremacy and the bottomless hunger and violence of its adherents. We see how this structure harms everyone, even the colonizers themselves aren’t without their losses, and their working class in Balladaire is struggling and ripe for rebellion or political exploitation, or both. But the plot doesn’t lose itself in pity for the those at the top or even the middle of the heap, and focus is kept on the Qazāli; we’re led to understand a bit more of Touraine’s broken & bruised soul and her trauma, and what’s at stake for their future. All of the characters are complex—even the villains, with all the cruelty and dehumanization they show certain characters, have some depths beyond their evil.

Abuse—emotional, psychological, physical; systemic and familial—its all handled well in this series too. As Luca & Touraine come closer to unpacking their childhood experiences and finding themselves in their present, their growth makes me more excited about Book 3. The slow burn romance worked well too

I was relieved we finally got some spicy scenes

🔥
Absolutely recommend ⭐️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Racism, Classism, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Death, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Child death

Queernormative worldbuilding, Queer romance, references to Polyamory, WLW romance

laurareads87's review

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I really liked The Unbroken but I loved this sequel. The Faithless includes all the elements I loved from the first book — a world where sexual diversity is accepted and not itself a plot point, a cast of complex and powerful women, a fast moving plot that held my attention, and shifting political alliances and unpredictable manoeuvering — but I also think in several respects, this book is stronger than its predecessor. The power dynamics of colonialism, rebellion, and class struggle feel more thoroughly and thoughtfully explored here, and the balance of focus between main and supporting characters felt more satisfying to me. While the focus remains on the main characters, quite a few side characters are very well developed here, and everyone’s motivations feel more nuanced. Absolutely excellent — I cannot wait to see where this series goes next. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for providing an ARC in exchange for this review. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, War, Child death, Death, Murder, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Confinement, Gun violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Grief, Blood, and Sexual content

Minor: Death of parent