Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

18 reviews

zombiezami's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Animal death, Blood, Misogyny, Child death, Child abuse, Mental illness, Abandonment, Colonisation, Death of parent, Trafficking, Body horror, Gore, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Grief, Hate crime, Police brutality, Slavery, War, Torture, Murder, Death, Sexism, Outing, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, and Stalking

Moderate: Excrement, Body shaming, Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Colonisation, and Vomit

colorism

carolined314's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Trafficking, Body shaming, Slavery, Death, Classism, Torture, Violence, Murder, Xenophobia, Blood, Body horror, and Bullying

Moderate: Sexual assault and Confinement

kallania's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Please read fully before judging:

I've read a lot of books in my lifetime and I've never almost put a book down so many times in my life... from the get-go this book was sickeningly violent.. the religion in the book was simply a way to oppress the women folk in the most drastic of ways.. the main character is viciously and cruelly tortured while being emotionally abused and used by her captors... it was everything I could do to get through the section as i felt sickened for her.. 

That being said when she's freed from her would be grave the story changes into a beautifully interwoven story of treachery, betrayal, and the fight for freedom.. I loved the book by the end and couldn't bring myself to ever put it down until I finished it and couldn't wait for the next one to be published. 

This book is not for the faint of heart, if you have led a traumatic life, or know those who have, been prosecuted for religious beliefs, or been oppressed by a religion you don't believe steer very clear of this book. Honestly, if your even the type to look away during violent scenes on TV don't read this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Torture, Kidnapping, Blood, Gore, Violence, Medical trauma, Misogyny, War, Hate crime, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Racism

demented_delights9448's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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

This book is not at all what I was expecting. It's so much better! No matter your ethnic heritage or skin color, you will find a character that resonates with you. This book oozes female empowerment. It tackles every religion, cult, and political structure that has ever blamed women for simply being women. It calls out the oppression that women face on the daily, encourages women to be themselves, and gives credence to our struggles, voices, bodies, and dreams. This is the book to have your teenaged daughters read. 

It has a decent pace, plenty of mystery that resolves, endearing characters, action, witty dialogue, and thoughtful exposition on top of believable world building. It can be a little dark emotionally, tackles very difficult topics, but is hopeful. At no point does this book blame all men as being oppressive. This is a book about equality for all: all genders, all faiths, all ages, all races, all sexualities. Romance is there but it's very low-key and it speaks encouragingly of all walks: from lesbianism to maintaining virginity to young men who don't want to hump every female thing in sight. 

It's a beautiful story set in a beautiful world with beautiful women and men battling it out against pure, unadulterated evil. There's even a dragon. What's not to like?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Genocide, Blood, Sexism, Misogyny, War, and Murder

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Child death, Body shaming, and Rape

Minor: Racism

Regarding content warnings, this book is not promoting such things. The author is drawing attention to them, illuminating these things as the difficult or downright heinous things that they are. This is a book for girls to learn that their voices are valuable and worth hearing. Surround yourself with people who value you as the living beings that you are. Value yourself.

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Murder, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Body shaming, Child death, Genocide, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Gaslighting, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Trafficking, Sexism, Violence, Vomit, and War

yulecogs's review against another edition

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, War, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Slavery

kyannarichard's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

It took me a bit to really gravitate to the book. But it was so good from the beginning. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Abandonment, Classism, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Rape

whatjasread'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? Yes

4.0

Enjoyed this more than I thought I would! Not too sure that I'm desperate to continue the series, but this book was very different to what I expected. The writing was great, though a little slow at times and could probably have been a little shorter with some decent editing. Plotwise this was predictable but not in a bad way, I enjoyed seeing the story unfold. I do wish there was a bit more focus on Deka's Uruni bond with Keita. I also wish the queer relationship was a bit more obvious and woven through the story, as it felt a bit like an afterthought.

TWs: racism, colourism, sexism, sexual harassment, illness, murder, graphic violence, gore, blood, death, stab wounds, torture, body-shaming, scarring, vomiting, ref to rape, sexual assault, fat-shaming, dismemberment, body horror, death of mother (before book)

Tropes/rep/themes: war, legends, sapphic SCs, found family, ritual bonding

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Murder, Blood, Death, Child death, Torture, and War

Moderate: Sexism, Vomit, Racism, Body shaming, Sexual harassment, and Fatphobia

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Medical content

zluke's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

The plot was engaging throughout and the characters were explored well. The main character has a lot of growth throughout the book. There were a lot of questions and mysteries throughout the book which are steadily answered and mostly tied up by the end. Some things I found a little confusing but overall a great read. 

It was a lot more explicit in sexism/misogyny and violance than I expected going in. There is graphic torture quite early on and this continues through the book. I felt it was important to the story though and the book explores the emotional impacts of this on the characters well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Blood, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, and Vomit

Minor: Lesbophobia, Body shaming, Confinement, Homophobia, and Pregnancy

kiwi_33's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

4.0

This book was enjoyable for numerous reasons: a powerful female protagonist, a cast of interesting and nuanced female characters, male characters that aren’t only portrayed as antagonists but also as allies, a good dose of mystery, beautifully crafted world building…

But it does have a couple of shortcomings, however small. I do feel more pages could have been spared for the world-building. As an avid enthusiast of envisioning an entirely new world created by a passionate writer, I feel there should have been more there.

The reveal with White Hands also felt somewhat out of character. It was surprising, which I suppose is a good thing, but I feel there should have been more hints as to her true intentions. It just felt completely out of place when it happened. I felt that she could maybe be part of an entire third faction (against the emperor, but also against the alaki and deathshreiks), that could possibly prove to be an ally, or another enemy. What actually ends up happening seems less interesting to me? Like, it could make for additional interesting conflict to also have a women’s faction be opposed to the alaki. It would also add depth to the story. As a reflection of how societies around the world treats women, cases of women fighting against women’s rights instead of supporting them have been seen countless times. I hope that aspect of societies will be explored in the next couple of books.

The ending to the book also felt pretty rushed. The pace suddenly increased, which could convey a sense of urgency, but it only felt like the book was missing the maybe 50 extra pages it might have needed to feel more complete. I am really looking forward to the next instalment though, and was happy to find out it’s being released later this year.

The cover art and coloured borders were stunning on this one, which played a large part in me buying it and discovering an interesting, thought-provoking story. I’m looking forward to adding the next one to my collection.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Body horror, Misogyny, Sexism, and Gaslighting

Minor: Bullying and Lesbophobia