Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Soulless by Gail Carriger

3 reviews

pedanther's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

I found the prose style easy to read - aside from an irritating tendency to change its mind several times a scene about who the viewpoint character was - but for me the story never entirely came alive. The plot is serviceable, but unsurprising, the characters underdeveloped, and while the worldbuilding has some interesting elements, it also has a tendency to rely on unexamined tropes that often left me wishing that certain aspects had been thought through more. I suspect that someone who's already more into urban fantasy and/or regency romance than me would find it more enjoyable. (I don't know if someone who's more into regency romance than me would be more or less annoyed by the use of regency romance tropes in a story that's explicitly set in the late Victorian era.) I wasn't surprised to find PG Wodehouse listed as one of the author's inspirations; I'm going to say that she doesn't have Wodehouse's knack for funny character names and leave it at that.

It says something that I've gone on so long about the book: I don't usually have this much to say about books I really dislike (or books I really like). This one's in that middle ground where it was good enough that I want to be just to it, but not good enough that I really liked it. Not sorry I gave it a shot, not likely to read any of the sequels.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Hate crime, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Self harm, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and War

flohbeutel's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

5.0

Als sie auf Seite 7 ihren Haarstab als Pflock benutzt, wollte ich ihr einen Antrag machen.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, and Classism

Minor: Misogyny, Sexual content, and Death of parent

stormywolf's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

 I've had this one on my To-Read shelf since forever. Being a sucker for werewolves and vampires, the premise hooked me from the get-go, plus that cover image was perfection. I bought a used copy of it ages ago, but never quite got around to diving in until this month the Maven of the Eventide's (aka Elisa Hansen's) Vampire Book Club chose it as their next read (the club's review/discussion will be held March 15th at 5:30 PDT on her channel for any interested). Though I'm more on Team Werewolf than Team Vamp, this excuse was as good as any to finally take the plunge and start my first ever Steampunk series. And boy was it steamy.

Read my full review at The Wolf's Den

Overall, this was a fun and funny foray into a combination urban fantasy, historical romance, cozy mystery. Whether you've picked a side in the age-old supernatural debate, or are keeping both avenues open, there's plenty of fang-filled lore to sink your teeth into, and characters of both persuasions to fall for. Having been published over a decade ago, along with being set more than a century ago, there are undoubtedly some uncomfortable references and ideologies that come up, but I still have faith that more positive messages will come forth as the series progresses. So if you're up for some Victorian-age snark with a side of steampunk and a lot of bite, I'd recommend checking out Soulless tonight. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Xenophobia, and Blood

Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Sexual content, Torture, Medical content, and Kidnapping

Minor: Misogyny and Racism

Hate crimes/experimentation & racism are committed against supernatural beings. The main character is taught by her mother (& society?) to believe she is unattractive because of her tan skin and large nose, owing to her Italian father, and she curses her skin/nose/attitude and her Italian blood throughout the book.