Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang

108 reviews

armandbaguette's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying and Death

Minor: Suicide and Suicide attempt

daydreamsofareader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Gun violence, Infertility, Sexual assault, Vomit, Police brutality, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Ableism, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Cannibalism, and Pregnancy

always_nightowl's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Sexism

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, and Colonisation

kindseanb's review against another edition

challenging reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Xenophobia

Moderate: Death and Racism

kanonia's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, and Suicide attempt

addythebookbat's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Genocide, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

rhi_'s review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

coltonchase's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

unthank's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Good 

• Despite the slow start it began to pick up in the second half. The climax and ending of the book was a total page-turner. 
• It presented the brutality of living in a racist and sexist world without feeling like this brutality was included for the sake of being voyeuristically grimdark.
• The story really hit the sweet spot of despair and hope. 
• The magic system of the world is interesting and well thought out. 
• The heroine was given space to be flawed and complex. She was a really good example of how a progressive person living in a racist society will make racist assumptions. The changes in her belief system and world perspective over the course of the novel felt well earned. 
• I enjoyed the chemistry between the two leads. 
• The story was an interesting examination of intersectionality. 

Bad

• Occasionally the dialog felt a little bit too on the nose regarding the themes of the story. 
• The first half of the book was slow.

YMMV

• The book contains an in-depth exploration of themes that some people might find difficult. While I felt like it struck the right balance between despair and hope, it's ultimately not a happy story. 
• The opening scene included one of my biggest first-chapter pet peeves. I appreciate this scene a lot more having read the entire story and seeing where the author ended up going with it, but it definitely almost put me off the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Genocide, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Vomit, and Abandonment

bookish_panda's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

“Maybe it would be a hundred generations before the sun rose on a life of dignity for their descendants, but the worthwhile run was not the sprint.”

What a masterful story. Heartbreaking and so necessary in these times. It was difficult to read sections of this book knowing how close it is to what has and still is going on in today’s world. As sad as the ending was (I’m still crying) it was perfect and hopeful. 

The author portrayed the toxicity of patriarchy, colonialism and, above all, white feminism/fragility to such a perfect degree. I feel like everyone should read this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual assault and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Miscarriage and Suicide