Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

14 reviews

kimreads14's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring 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

4.25

The Gilded Ones was a great introduction to a new world by Namina Forna. 🏆

The overall experience of reading this book made my blood boil at all times. Forna's capacity to depict a patriarchal and misogynistic world that will make you question your own reality is masterful!
Forna offers a beautiful piece that pushes you to critically think about the state of our society.

The reason why I bumped it down from 5 ⭐️ to 4.25 ⭐️ is because from time to time the writing and the world-building felt a bit forced rather than carrying you inside Otera smoothly and with grace. 
Also while I understand that Deka is meant to be special among even the Alakis, the way this was depicted sometimes felt a bit borderline of a Mary Sue character. Anyone who is used to reading books of this kind will admit that the MFC tends to always be special... However, it sometimes felt like Deka was way too special for no real reason other than pumping up the character's ego instead of moving the story along. 
Finally, I was a bit disappointed with the brevity of White Hands' final explanation of who she is and why she did what she did. Parts of the story could have been shorter to give this more space, or pages could have been added. 

Overall though, this book was beautifully written and truly makes you question how 'free' you are as a woman in society. I'm excited to get back to Deka and her friends' story with the next book in the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Death, Slavery, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, War, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Child abuse, Torture, and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

mj1588's review against another edition

challenging mysterious medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, War, Cursing, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Gore, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Vomit, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Torture, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Violence, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, and Kidnapping

angelaparnay's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, Torture, Racism, Racial slurs, and Misogyny

litbrett's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Sexual violence, War, Physical abuse, Grief, Death, and Blood

analienfromouterspace's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

4.0

I picked up this book spontaneously and ended up loving it so much. The character development, plot twist and just the whole world, LOVED IT. A little slow at times, hence not 5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Torture, Violence, Abandonment, and Sexism

Moderate: Death of parent, Vomit, Death, Sexual violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, War, Trafficking, Emotional abuse, Genocide, and Gaslighting

Minor: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Death of parent, and Pedophilia

zikin's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.75

I enjoyed parts of this book, and I liked the main character/characters. My biggest reason for not giving it 4 stars is the gore. I found the graphic descriptions of violence and abuse off-putting. I will read the sequel though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Rape, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Torture, Violence, and War

lucy_shanners's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Child death, Child abuse, Blood, Body horror, Sexism, Misogyny, Violence, and War

Moderate: Racial slurs, Death of parent, Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Bullying, Pedophilia, and Vomit

decembermagpie'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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Hate crime, Self harm, Vomit, War, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Sexism, Racial slurs, Confinement, Kidnapping, and Racism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, and Drug use

n1ki_nobre's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

4.75

Incredible! Incredible! Incredible! Loved this book so much. The only criticism would be the romance subplot which just fell short in comparison to other themes in this book. However, I still enjoyed it and it didn't take away from the overall book too much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism and War

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Physical abuse, and Cursing

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

theespressoedition's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional slow-paced

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

2.0

Well, I've discovered something about myself while reading this book: I don't care for war/warrior stories, especially when it comes to fantasy.

I realize a lot of my disinterest in this book stems from the audio because I wasn't a huge fan of the narration style. However, I also just didn't love the story itself. It felt like it dragged on, with an excess of description and lack of action. There was such a huge focus on what was so different about the MC that when the "big reveal" happened, it seemed like a letdown because it was nothing unusual.

If it had been a brand new creature of some sort, I would have been fascinated, but finding out that she was just the ruler/killer of the species was a bummer

Usually, at the end of a slower book that I didn't love, I still have an interest in reading the sequel. However, for this book, it didn't keep me interested enough to pick up the next book. I'm just not enthralled with the characters or what happens to them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Vomit, and Trafficking

Moderate: Body shaming, Murder, Racial slurs, and Sexual harassment