Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Majesties by Tiffany Tsao

10 reviews

raaahella's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

2.75

Awkward as anything. I did not like the book. Though I like that it was set in Indonesia.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Murder, Racism, Classism, and Gaslighting

kristinallard's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship

Minor: Cancer, Death, Gore, Murder, and Classism

sallysimply's review against another edition

2.5

What a weird book. That opening was enough to keep me going through the first 25% or so when I was somewhat confused and not at all engaged. Then it started picking up around 40% or so. But this was a lot to get through for not much payoff.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Death, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, and Fatphobia

caitcosentino's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

The ending was extremely confusing. I don't like that the narrator wasn't real this whole time. Kind of ruins the rest of the story. 

I enjoyed the book up until that point. The slow reveal of how Estella & Leonard's marriage played out was interesting and kept my attention. 

I didn't love all of the insects involved. 

I don't regret reading it, but I probably wouldn't recommend it to others because of the ending. 

 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Murder

aegaeon's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

re: the ending: ??? i mean, sure? it was a big twist that contradicted the entire narrative yet simultaneously (imo) amounted to nothing of significance; it just fell flat. the prose, oh boy. it's how i write when trying to sound smart in essays, unnecessarily florid. it had a promising concept, i was hooked just from the blurb, but it didn't live up and the entire time i wasn't all that interested.
cover design review: ★★★☆☆. intriguing at first glance, i like the yellow background and the texture and shadows of the paint strokes within the face, but other than that it's eh. this is not representative of the book i just read

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Car accident, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Addiction, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, and Racism

Minor: Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Infertility, Abortion, Blood, Cancer, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Dementia, Terminal illness, and Vomit

re: animal cruelty and death: it's insects if that makes a difference

solspringsreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.25

UGH. Loved the beginning of this one, and I was hooked for pretty much the entirety of the book. Great premise, super comparable to We Have Always Lived in the Castle and Crazy Rich Asians, and the book really unfolds in a satisfying and interesting way.
And then we get to the big plot twist, and it just… completely lost me. It’s not that the plot twist was bad (and I even half-guessed it!) but it felt so unnecessary, like it cheapened so much of what made this book compelling and unique. Suddenly this book went from a well-crafted, layered metaphor about wealth, corruption, and family, to a schlocky thriller movie rated 64% on Rotten Tomatoes
I’ll read anything else this author puts out because I did really enjoy the majority of this book, but I’m beyond disappointed by the ending. (How can a plot twist both be predictable AND completely random? I wouldn’t have thought it possible until I read this book.)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, Violence, Murder, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Gaslighting, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Infidelity, Medical content, Islamophobia, and Drug use

Minor: Addiction and Misogyny

carissa230's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

This book is marked as a mystery or thriller, but I feel it would be better marked as contemporary. While there is some mystery due t the family being poisoned by the sister that is not the main point of the book.

The book is told from the respective of Gwendolyn, who is in a comma and fighting for life. The book is about the life that the sisters lead and how their lives started on one course and then went down a different more twisted course. Gwendolyn is looking back and seeing where things went wrong with Estella and how Gwendolyn could have helped had she known at the time what a difference it would make.

We get to see Estella's relationship with her husband blossom, her parents push her, and she doesn't go against anything they want. Gwendolyn does not do everything they want and she doesn't quite understand why Gwendolyn does.

It was a good book. I would have preferred if we heard more about the poisoning, may have been a better book from Estella's point of view. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Domestic abuse, and Death

pennym_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Physical abuse

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, and Drug abuse

lou_o_donnell's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Dementia, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Car accident, and Domestic abuse