Reviews tagging 'Murder'

When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo

16 reviews

kobooks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Violence, Murder, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Slavery

rieviolet's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? No

4.5

I picked up this book at my library on a whim and I ended up pleasantly surprised. It is a really engaging story and it also feels very fresh, like nothing I've read before. 

It is told in a dual POV and I have to admit I was particularly drawn to Darwin's chapters (compared to the ones in Yejide's perspective). His narrative voice is just so strong and captivating, it was honestly beautiful to witness his character development.  

The writing is very atmospheric and the author does a great job of building and breathing life into the spaces that these characters inhabit.

I didn't like a short segment in Yejide's POV where the writing got a bit too experimental for my liking, it felt too fragmented and stream of consciousness-like. Also, I would have liked a bit more of exploration into Yejide's character and the gift connected to her lineage. 

However, these are minor grievances, overall I really enjoyed the reading experience and I look forward to Ayanna Lloyd Banwo's future projects.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Blood, Slavery, Bullying, and Body horror

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Sexism, Drug use, Cursing, Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Child death, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Torture

bookishmillennial's review

challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

What a gorgeously written literary romance. I listened to the audiobook and I highly recommend it, as the narration was excellent 👌🏽 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Violence

verysillygoose's review

dark emotional reflective slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Death

Moderate: Murder and Violence

Minor: Slavery

jujulemonade's review

hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective slow-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

wow. this book was such, a journey. it’s the story of two characters who are exploring their own relationship to death and grief based on their families and their families history with it. it was fun to see these characters develop and there’s an interesting twist at the end which made it hard to put down! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent and Murder

gertrudski's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Death

auudrey's review

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious tense 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? No

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Murder, Religious bigotry, Bullying, and Abandonment

neevechristine's review

dark emotional 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? No

3.0

I really struggled to read this before bed! lovely sentiment, took a while to get settled in. Not my usual genre so I found quite eerie and disturbing for me as I’m sensitive 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Violence, Grief, Classism, Death of parent, Slavery, and Bullying

jayisreading's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

3.75

Knowing very little about Trinidad and Tobago, When We Were Birds was a delight to read to learn more about Trinidadian culture. There’s beautiful prose and a wonderful rhythm in Banwo’s storytelling that pulls you into the novel, the use of Trinidadian English further immersing you. Centering the living’s relationship with death through Yejide and Darwin, we also discover the prevalence of complex love in death, especially in one’s relationships.

I have to admit, as beautifully written as this book was, the pacing was kind of all over the place for me, with the beginning being a little too slow and the ending a bit fast. In addition, I would have loved Yejide’s character to be fleshed out more; it felt as though Banwo spent far more time with Darwin that we have a better sense of who he is. (I must also confess, I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I was in a better headspace, but I had to return the book soon…)

This was a wonderful debut novel, though, and I really look forward to what more Banwo has in store for her readers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Murder

rhi_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Death of parent, and Grief