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zombiezami's review against another edition
4.0
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
colorismkimreads14's review against another edition
- 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 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.
Graphic: Colonisation, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Death, Slavery, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, War, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Child abuse, Torture, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
emerentina's review
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Blood, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Rape, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, War, Racism, Physical abuse, and Gore
Moderate: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Slavery, Sexual harassment, and Pregnancy
dannmaher's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Death, Murder, Grief, Child abuse, Body horror, Trafficking, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Slavery, and Gore
Content warning: In adding my review I have included over ten content warnings that I believe are necessary. I think this is an important book to talk about and the way that women are viewed(?). There is just a lot of various forms of violence that women face throughout the book so it is hard to suggest to some of my AFAB, Trans, feminine presenting friends because it touches on experiences that 'women' face in the world. I think if you can accept the content warnings it is overall a good book and potentially going to be a good series.carolined314's review
- 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
Graphic: War, Trafficking, Body shaming, Slavery, Death, Classism, Torture, Violence, Murder, Xenophobia, Blood, Body horror, and Bullying
Moderate: Sexual assault and Confinement
demented_delights9448's review against another edition
- 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
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?
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.yaelaed's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Death
Moderate: Sexism, Torture, Trafficking, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, War, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Rape and Confinement
katemarie99's review
2.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, and Sexism
Minor: Suicide, Homophobia, Rape, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Torture, and Sexual violence
whimsykat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Misogyny, Slavery, Death, Blood, Violence, Body horror, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Gore, Sexism, Hate crime, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
5.0
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