Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Eva Luna by Isabel Allende

8 reviews

rubybastille's review

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? No

4.0

Beautiful writing, as expected, but light on both story and the magical realism the blurbs led me to expect. I enjoyed the characters, especially Mimi, a trans drag performer turned national celebrity, and Elvira, an elderly maid who looks out for Eva. CW for transphobia along Mimi’s journey and some underage sexual content (this is a book from the 80s and while its trans representation is actually decent, it still misses a few marks by modern standards).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia and Sexual content

Moderate: Death of parent, War, and Police brutality

jinmichae's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense 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? No

4.5

I really loved the writing of this book. It made for a very compelling story, and as soon as I was finished, I put several more of the books by the same author on my "to read" list.

The ups and downs of Eva's life, and the way she interacts with the people in her life, are the main focus. And she's such an interesting character in an interesting setting that it was hard to put down: I was always wanting to see what would happen next, and how the plot would resolve.

It's definitely dark in places: much of the story is set against corruption and political takeovers.

But there's a happy ending, which felt almost impossible with the odds placed against the characters, but I was glad for it. I don't need everything to be cold hard reality, and it was set up enough to feel like a satisfying payoff: even if it only exists because of a sometimes unreliable narrator. It's just a story, so why not let Eva tell it how she wants to?

Also, I adore Mimí. Her success and happiness might have been the best part of the whole book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality

Moderate: Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide, Sexism, Grief, Infidelity, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Violence, War, Sexual content, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, and Pregnancy

Minor: Rape, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Trafficking, and Sexual violence

itsyourgalyazza's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

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

4.5

A beautiful story full of hope.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Sexual content, Sexual violence, and War

kalmia31's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Classism

Moderate: Death, Sexism, Sexual content, Mental illness, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Alcohol, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, and War

Minor: Islamophobia and Death of parent

bookishbeccahale's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, War, and Police brutality

lenaricharz's review

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Violence, Incest, Forced institutionalization, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Colonisation, Death, Sexual content, and War

Minor: Dementia

laurikas's review against another edition

emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

 This is my second Allende book that I've discovered, and God only knows what took me this long to pick them up. Especially because Latin American literature is my top favourite, and her writing explodes with all the characteristics I admire from that region.

She also writes particularly well about women. I remember reading she was raised mostly by her mother & grandmother, because her father was an absent father, which made writing about women more natural for her. And I couldn't agree more.

Also her writing is sprinkled with the magical realism that I so adore, so it's two combinations made in heaven (women stories + magical realism = perfection!).

Left one star behind because I felt Eva's story too neatly wrapped up - sometimes the many coincidences got in the way of truly enjoying her life story. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Death, Dementia, Police brutality, and Infidelity

teosinte's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

my partner had mentioned this book to me a while ago, and i recently started commuting by bus so this was my first choice. i'd love to read it in spanish someday. somehow this book made me feel more human!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Police brutality, Transphobia, and Sexual content