Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

35 reviews

juliapatt2007's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

3.0

I received an AR copy from a friend, and it came highly recommended. The story is set in a culture that I am not familiar with and steeped in folklore that was foreign to me. The author has twisted fiction with actual folklore to create an amazing world filled with living breathing characters. I struggled with the main female character’s personality at times but in those struggles I identified with some of her personality traits. Overall the characters failed and succeeded realistically which I appreciated. Some of the finer points of folklore were confusing to me and at times I got a little lost. I think if I were to read this book again I would grasp the intricacies more. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War

Minor: Sexual content

justmys's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

“No, we don't deserve the burdens that our parents gave us, but we cant defeat monsters we won't face.” 

A really powerful book filled with a beautifully rich and vivid world populated by well fleshed out characters. 
The relationships Tarisai built felt natural and well paced. The mother was heartbreaking at times in her obsession, which was an odd experience to have. Complex "villains" are a favourite of mine and this book definitely explored all of the shades of grey for her. 
I only gave the book 4 stars as there were times I felt things happened out of convenience for the plot, but they weren't overly distracting and didn't detract too much from the overall book. I also felt that, at times, the ages of the characters were confusing to follow. This might have been my fault, perhaps I didn't hear it when listening but I felt myself reeling a little at how the characters spoke or interracted and had to keep double checking ages online.

Overall, a really great read and the narrator for the book did an amazing job bringing the music of the world alive.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Abandonment, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Sexual content, Excrement, and Pregnancy

thecatconstellation's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This book deserves way more hype. The story is original and engaging. Steeped in beautiful imagery and detailed mythology, this is a story of the drive for justice.

My only critique is that the council members are supposedly so meaningful to Tar, but only a few of them are fleshed out beyond the most basic level. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Child abuse, Violence, Sexism, and Misogyny

Moderate: War, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Emotional abuse, Classism, Blood, Child death, Xenophobia, Confinement, Rape, Murder, Death of parent, and Colonisation

Minor: Slavery, Alcohol, and Sexual content

pagesandtales's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, and Violence

Minor: Sexual content and Rape

bookishmillennial's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

I LOVE THIS BOOK! I AM OBSESSED WITH IT! READ IT NOW! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Rape and Sexual content

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-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? It's complicated

2.5

Yet another book with 80%+ 4-5 star ratings that I ended up being disappointed by, so maybe the issue is really just that I'm a hater :/ Loved the ideas and themes, but the characters (especially the more minor ones, had trouble keeping track of the background council members) didn't feel fleshed-out enough, the worldbuilding is conveyed mostly in blocky exposition dumps, and the pacing in general feels... odd, with a lot of unnecessary jumps in time and awkward transitions. Lots of potential in theory, but didn't quite live up to it in execution for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Sexism, Abandonment, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Colonisation, Confinement, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Bullying, Murder, Xenophobia, and Classism

Minor: Slavery, Vomit, Incest, Rape, Sexual content, Acephobia/Arophobia, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, and Suicide

Relationship between characters with unspecified ages but presumably one around 15-17 and the other at least in his 20s. Crush/romantic undertones (no actual relationship) between characters later revealed to be related.

linblythe_pub22's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, and Sexism

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Vomit, Xenophobia, Blood, and War

ashlikes's review against another edition

adventurous 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: Xenophobia, Violence, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Grief, Blood, Toxic relationship, Death, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Confinement, Colonisation, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Stalking, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Slavery, Medical content, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Rape, and Vomit

zadsavage's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.75

I think this book is wonderful. The world building is fantastic. The African influences are strong and informative and a fun alternative to Greek mythology. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Sexual content, Classism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War

mscaitty's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual content