Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

The Black Queen by Jumata Emill

15 reviews

panickat123's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective 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

4.5

This plot twist was so good 😱 I’m honestly probably just slow and didn’t see it coming which Happens a lot with thriller/mysteries but damn this book got me. Loved it. Also on audio, it has all the bg noises like doorbells, phone chimes, knocks, all incorporated into it and that was new for an audiobook and it really brings you into the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Child death, Grief, Classism, Murder, and Racism

Moderate: Rape, Abortion, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Suicide, Alcohol, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Blood

scrubsandbooks's review

dark emotional mysterious 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

This book was A Time, a whodunnit with a twist that I didn't see coming and was properly surprised. Very emotional race commentary that feels so damn timely.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Bullying, and Racism

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Cancer and Sexual assault

_p0ssum_'s review against another edition

dark reflective 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

4.25

Wow. 
I really like this book , the characters are really interesting and well thought out . Some of the writing I found not so well written as the rest of the book which leads it to be a 4.25 instead of a 5 .

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Murder, and Racism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Abortion

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Cancer

caidyn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

A very good debut! I almost put it down, but decided to keep going. I was impressed but don't feel the need to keep it for a reread.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Murder

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Death of parent and Cancer

guilloryj's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Bullying, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Abortion, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Cancer

clare072's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Grief

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Racism, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Murder, and Pedophilia

Minor: Blood, Cancer, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Abortion, Rape, and Vomit

anna_wa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Bullying, Death, Addiction, Murder, Alcoholism, Blood, Emotional abuse, Grief, Racism, Gaslighting, Hate crime, and Infidelity

Moderate: Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Death of parent, Incest, and Pedophilia

Minor: Vomit and Abandonment

psistillreadyou's review

challenging dark medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, Child death, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Drug use, Cancer, Suicide, Rape, Pregnancy, and Death of parent

hannaws'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

3.5

“Why is video evidence never enough to convict white people of killing us, but suspicion alone is enough to gun us down and lock us up?”

I had a major deja vu while reading this book. I don't know what triggered that exactly, but during the last half of the book, I felt like I've seen/read all this before. So much so that I knew how it would end. That was weird, very weird.

I don't think I've ever put a book on hold as quick as I put this one. I did that immediately when I saw they were going to order it when it's published. I was excited, to say the least. But it was kind of a let down. 

I really didn't think this book would turn out to be a book about Tinsley. Yes, she is the main suspect. I get that. But I still hoped for it to be something else rather than just pretty much all about Tinsley trying to save her behind. Duchess's POVs where really short and there were very few of them. You mostly read the book from Tinsley's POV.

I would have hoped to get more into everyones lives. Especially into the relationship between Duchess and his dad. But we barely scratched the surface. All the other characters and the relationships were left shallow as well.
Even with Tinsley. She has a relationship with the boy, whose name I cannot remember, but that was pretty much that. Her mom is a monster. Yet we don't really dive into her character either.

All in all it was a nice book. I would have hoped for more of the promised mystery but that was a little shortlived aspect for this book. It's not a bad book by any means, and the topic is very important. But I like my mysteries to be exactly that, a mystery. Now the culprit was discovered very early on in the book which left the end flat.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Bullying, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Abortion, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Infidelity, Sexual assault, and Cancer

jillianelis_'s review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

4.0

I had been waiting for this book for a LONG time, so I was thrilled that I got an advance copy and didn’t have to wait on my library’s hold  list! 

The Black Queen absolutely lived up to my expectations. While I kind of figured out the killer really early on, the story still had me on the edge of my seat! Nova slightly reminded me of Laura Palmer from Twin Peaks (murdered homecoming Queen who was full of secrets), and I wish we got to see more of her in life before she died. I would absolutely read a book about Nova’s life because I wanted to know more about her, her life in Virginia, how she became friends with Duchess, etc. All of the characters felt very real and fleshed out as well, and the handling of difficult topics was both sensitive and honest at every turn. I can’t wait to read whatever Jumata Emill writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Racism, Violence, Murder, Grief, Death, Emotional abuse, and Bullying

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Cancer, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, and Infidelity

Minor: Police brutality and Abortion