Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan

77 reviews

kaneebli's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I speed read the last 100 pages of this book because it got so depressing I just wanted to be done with it. That's not to say it's a bad book, because it's not a bad book. But throughout the entire book, Xingyin goes through so much physical and emotional pain and suffering it started to really bother me. Like it became just straight up unenjoyable. 

Also it sucks that Liwei just ends up basically trapped in his role as the new emperor. I feel like eventually at the end everybody gets what they want and becomes happy, except him. And that's a bummer, because it's easy to imagine that in the future, he ends up exactly like his shitty father because he has no happiness in his life. I wish he had gotten a happier ending. :/ 

ALSO, it's a bummer that we never get to read about any instance of Wenzhi and Xingyin actually just being happy together. It just ends with the promise of potentially being happy together in a few decades. :///

ALSO ALSO ummmm hello why has no one even considered polyamory????? whack.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child death, Death, and Violence

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Death of parent

liamliayaum's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Grief, and Blood

Moderate: Child death and Death

savvyrosereads's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

4.5

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The sequel to DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GODDESS, continuing and concluding the story of Xingyin and her loved ones.

I enjoyed DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GODDESS, but I loved this one even more. It was so emotional, and hooked me into the drama and action right away—it felt like the plot never stopped moving, and I was engaged pretty much the whole time. I’m not always a fan of love triangles, but this one was done so well, and while I wanted to throw the book at one point, it ultimately ended up with an outcome I absolutely loved.

I also felt like the world building was more thorough this time, and I came away with a decent understanding of the world, the mythology, and the magic here. All of the characters really grew on me, and I felt all the emotional gut punches I should have felt and all the joy when things went well. I’m really glad I read this duology, and excited to wrap it all up with TALES OF THE CELESTIAL KINGDOM soon!

CW: Blood/injury/death/violence/war, including child death; infidelity; grief

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, War, Death, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent

zinn24's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.75

I have loved both books in this series- transporting fantasy and the second book was better for me than the first! If you love fantasy or mythology retellings, this series is a worthy addition to your to-read list, especially if you have yet to venture into the beautiful world of Chinese myth.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Violence

kenny_2288's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Blood, Classism, and Death

ctara2123's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Violence, Child death, and Murder

theycallmebookish's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring sad tense 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? No

4.25

Ms. Tan did it again! This beautiful sequel has the same gorgeous imagery as the first and did not disappoint. I found this book to be more soap opera like than the first which caught my attention because the angst, oh the angst! We learn more about each character without it feeling overdone or dragged out. I also enjoyed how the more violent aspects of the book were handled and appreciated how the main character was not afraid to get her hands dirty. Xingyin is a strong main character who so well developed and thought out. It was a great end to this duology. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Violence

bree_h_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Infidelity, Violence, Murder, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Child death, Grief, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Stalking

guessgreenleaf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Blood, Death, Murder, Violence, and War

aims122's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, War, and Violence

Moderate: Murder and Child death

Minor: Gaslighting and Death of parent

In the first book, Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Xingyin went through a lot and there's a lot of references back to things that happened in the first book. Namely to a betrayal, abduction and imprisonment by someone whom she trusted. This is referenced quite a bit throughout the book, especially in the beginning.