Reviews tagging 'Child death'

A Psalm of Storms and Silence by Roseanne A. Brown

7 reviews

aformeracceleratedreader's review

medium-paced

4.25

Did love this as much as the first but still thoroughly enjoyed it. Loved all the side characters and liked how it ended.
Def read trigger/content warnings especially if you struggle with mental health.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Child death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Self harm

aseel_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-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

2.75

I liked how the ending came about, it was a good plot, not unrealistic but it was quite slow and I just didn't care or connect with any of the characters but I liked their arcs

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Trafficking, Violence, War, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Child death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Death, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping

strawberrytheauthor's review

adventurous 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

5.0

This book was fabulous! An upper YA fantasy book and the second in A Song of Wraiths and Ruin duology. This duology is full of African mythology and a setting similar. The prose is wonderfully written and concludes the story of Karina and Malik in a way that, while somewhat disappointing, makes sense for the way their characters have developed. 

Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, untimely ascension, Found Family, assassinations. 

I loved the magic system and how Roseanne A. Brown made it all fit within a set mythology of the world. Nothing about the magic system seemed out of place or like it didn’t make sense.

There is wonderful disability representation with anxiety, depression, and what seems to me to be autism. There is also a lot of LGBTQ+ representation and I think every character is a person of color (don’t quote me on that I don’t see pictures when I read I have no idea what these characters look like). 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, War, Child abuse, Classism, Grief, Racism, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Kidnapping

Grooming

kaylamoran's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

5.0

I am obsessed with this duology.  I absolutely loved book 1 and was so worried that this one wouldn't live up to it, but I liked it even more!  Both easy 5 star reads for me.
Malik has my heart and I'd die for him.
I'll definitely be checking out anything else Roseanne A. Brown writes.  Everything about this felt so unique, and even the tropes didn't feel tropey.  It was genuinely unpredictable, which for someone who reads as much YA fantasy as i do, can be very difficult to achieve.
Did I mention I love Malik?  I love Malik.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Gaslighting, Self harm, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Blood, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and War

Minor: Kidnapping, Alcohol, Bullying, Confinement, and Fire/Fire injury

heli1403's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

Is there a way to give this 100 stars? Lol
I read a song of wraith and ruins back in June after hearing it's a good book and that I'll love it if I loved children of blood and bone. I finished in a week (during my exam period lol) and counted the days until this book. And it was worth it!
I barely read fantasy books that goes into the depth of the characters emotions and mental health, and I needed it SO MUCH. The writing of Malik anxiety, both Karina and Malik lowest moments... I actually had to stop doing my crocheting or whatever I was doing and just focus in listening because it felt so real, I could feel the pain, it was written so, so well.
Being very anxious girl myself (lol) I found myself trying to look for spoilers just to make sure my favorite characters are ok. Good thing I didn't find much lol. The end is bittersweet, like a lot of people said, and I can't decide if I like it or refuse to admit I like it bc it made me sad. How much do I need to pay to get more Malik and Karina stories in my life? I'LL PAY.
Anyway, even if you didn't like a song of wraith and ruins let this one a chance. I think I even liked that one better. Wish it was a trilogy or something just so I can have more of it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness

booksthatburn's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense 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

5.0

A PSALM OF STORMS AND SILENCE is the fantastic conclusion to an excellent duology. One of many places where this shines is in its portrayal of trauma and aftermath, but especially in its portrayal of a kind of lingering pain from ongoing emotional abuse. The characters have room to make bad decisions in ways that are completely understandable. I was never frustrated by the choices they make in a narrative sense because the narrative itself made sure I knew whose manipulations, lies, and control of information were driving those bad decisions. It deftly uses a thousand years of self-interest and old grief, showing how they shape the characters' present, even if ways they hadn't realized were connected. It's about how accepting present power with a legacy of past power means both acting responsibly with the power in the present and accepting responsibility for the legacy of harm caused by that power in the past. How a chain of people accepting enormous power but eschewing responsibility for the harm caused by the power lead to even more harm. These layers of trauma, aftermath, resolution, acceptance, and restitution play out within their own lifetimes and on the scale of kingdoms as they try to stop the world from breaking with the grief of a goddess and the fruitless scheming of a dead king. 

Karina and Malik's relationship is complicated, with lies and misunderstandings from A SONG OF WRAITHS AND RUIN meddling in what ought to be a simple case of one hunting the other to try and stop the fall of the kingdom. Farid is a well-written manipulator, wrapped up in his own plans and unable to see the difference between someone agreeing with him and one who's just placating him to avert his anger and disappointment from falling on them. His frustrations make sense with his character and circumstances, his increasingly complicated plans hum along in the background of everything Malik and Karina try to accomplish.

This wraps up more than one major thing left hanging from the first book. The main storyline starts here and was only lightly present previously. There are several major things that are both introduced and resolved, and as part two of a duology it’s an immensely satisfying ending. The main characters are the same and they’re consistent with their portrayals in the first book. This might make sense if someone tried to start here and hadn’t read the previous book, it does a good job of referencing prior events without devolving into a full recap. It was definitely enough to pull me fully into the story even though it’s been a while since I read A SONG OF WRAITHS AND RUIN and my recall was initially fuzzy. I'd basically forgotten what happened before and it gently reminded me at gradual intervals as various previous events became relevant. The current stakes and past drama are clearly communicated, and the emotional context is vibrant.

The ending is excellent. There's still a lot of work to do and a lot of life for the survivors to live, and it's okay that this story stops here since it had to stop somewhere. I love the framing device, it satisfied my need to know what happens next.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Torture, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Sexual content, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Gore, Body horror, Medical content, Medical trauma, Slavery, and Child death

Minor: Domestic abuse, Incest, and Vomit

CW for grooming.

yvonne_cl's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Xenophobia, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: War, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Miscarriage, and Kidnapping