Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

190 reviews

magnoliaash's review against another edition

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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

4.25


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nelldiaz's review against another edition

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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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brighgreen's review against another edition

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fast-paced
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

1.5

I wanted to like this and I absolutely did not. Poor writing, no character development, confusing plot after no world building - you’re just thrown into a world that is immediately dismantled, multiple times. It’s all bad. 

The main character is so one-dimensional and flip flops ideologies and beliefs too quickly to follow. It’s like reading a 300 page panic attack and then suddenly she’s fully formed and confident. She’s so inconsistent that the whole book is rendered pointless. Not one character acts how a real human would; I understand this is fantasy but we’re still supposed to believe they’re real people, right?

And how is this book’s pace simultaneously too fast and too slow? I had no idea what was going on and yet it was somehow stupidly predictable??

The story could have been good - I could see myself caring about this world - it was just executed so poorly. I like what this book was trying to do (I’m always looking for diverse fantasy and strong female leads) but this ain’t it.

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viccgotmotion's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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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zombiezami's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0


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tiffanne11's review against another edition

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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

3.75

Girls in Otera are two things, either they bleed red and are deemed pure, or they bleed gold and are sentenced to death. 
Deka has never fit in and is looking forward to being deemed pure and finally belonging. But her entire world is turned upside down when her town is attacked on the day of the ritual. Her blood runs gold, and everything changes. 

As a whole, this story was compelling. It used fiction to describe and address real systemic issues, while also creating a world and characters that draw you in. 
However, the big reveal was not shocking and it was mildly frustrating how long it took for it to happen. 
To me, there is no reason for there to be a sequel or to read it. All of the main loose ends were tied up, and there isn't anything pulling me into continuing the story. The reader has all of the information we need to put it down and be satisfied. 

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mysteryspouse's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense 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? Yes

5.0


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kimreads14's review against another edition

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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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molliford's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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

4.0


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obscureprism's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful fast-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? Yes

3.75

I enjoyed reading this, but the character relationships felt very rushed and left a lot to be desired. A lot of emotional aspects of the book I felt like I was being told I had to care about rather than being showed why I should care about them. Overall, I think the book and storyline in general needed more detail to help me develop actual feelings towards the characters. 

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