Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Blood & Sugar by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

14 reviews

snakeling's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Slavery, Murder, and Torture

Moderate: Sexual violence and Rape

Minor: Child abuse

leahhhtaylor's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

i really hoped this book would be better after reading square of sevens. i feel it sort of got lost in the middle and then came out with a sort of undercooked ending. but i’ll give her other book a read to determine if this was just an unfortunate flop! and maybe i just should write off all books using the hard r for my own sake

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Slavery

simplyamysue's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Sexual assault

ronanmcd's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

An exciting, tense look at a reproduction of the massacre that turned public opinion in the UK against slavery. It does a good job of looking at the various viewpoints around the trade and the massive trauma it induced.
Use of the n-word by the less savoury characters, and the drawing a line on racism at the time of abolition aside, the book tells a good story but very much from a white saviour viewpoint. That the hero is a man of the crown underpins this. Nonetheless, it's very entertaining, evocative and in its way informative.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Rape, Racism, Pedophilia, Colonisation, Child abuse, Blood, Racial slurs, Murder, Mental illness, Genocide, Sexual violence, Torture, and Slavery

carysn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Racism, Gore, Sexual violence, Murder, Pedophilia, Slavery, Colonisation, Physical abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Violence, Vomit, War, and Blood

khall123's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Sexual violence, Gore, Violence, Slavery, Trafficking, Rape, and Racial slurs

shelfofunread's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Torture, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Alcohol, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, and Animal death

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Mental illness, Racial slurs, and War

gurofl's review against another edition

I just didn't enjoy it. It was a bit difficult to get into, and there was something about the narrator's voice that made it difficult for me to hear all the words. I think I was a bit bored, and all the gruesome details of torture and slavery made me not want to continue with the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Slavery

hexatrance's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

Between a 4 and a 4.5. I have to admit, it took me a bit to get into it because I knew right off the bat, based on historical context, what was going to be the reveal for the first part of the plot. However, the second half did keep me on my toes and I found myself not wanting to put it down. This is a really clever use of historical context in a way that truly encapsulates what it means to be historical fiction. The approach towards using the slave trade as the background and focus of the book was done very well. It created a fictional plot without having to fictionalised the facts or contexts of the time. The historical note was also very good with some good boon recs. I would have liked to have seen more of Caro and Corsham's relationship, and a lot of things are forwarded by a repetitive use of bribery, but other than that, it was a great read. I've also bought the next book that focuses on his wife Caro and the murder of a prostitute. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Racism, Slavery, and Torture

hannahrhian's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Torture, Vomit, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Slavery