Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko

6 reviews

tired_cicada's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed this book aplenty. It had good and bad to it. 

For the good, Ifueko's writing style is so pretty and poetic. She writes characters who feel like real people. She handles sensitivite subjects with such grace and honor. Her takes in justice and personal accountability leave a flushed out story while also making a clear social comentary. Her use of mythology to enhance the story without turning it into a crutch is so masterful! All of her story lines get wrapped up, I don't like anything plot important was left with loose threads. Some relationships were left open ended, and not everything is "fixed" but it was a natural conclusion to the duology.

The Ace rep specifically was so dear to me! To have an emotional, loving, HUMAN character who is conically ace is so rare! Love my boy Dyao!! 

As for the not so good--
There were definitely some pacing issues with this book. The magic system, particularly the bargain aspect of it, could have used a bit more time to flush it out. 
The love triangle was entirely unnecessary, particularly when it amounted to nothing. 
It was a little predictable

WHAT?! you mean the vigilante (that has apparently been active for ages but only mentioned now) and the secondary love interest who acts a fool in public but is smart and articulate with the MC are the SAME PERSON?! WHAT? the Lady who spent the entire last book being sneaky and deceitful is STILL sneaky and deceitful in death? Shocker!!

and I wish it would have surprised me a little more. 

All in all, the good outweighed the bad, and I liked it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Child death, Violence, Gaslighting, War, Body horror, Bullying, Colonisation, Death, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders

friendly_neighborhood_grandma's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Jordan Ifueco is an absolutely brilliant author. I cannot fathom how this story came out of her imagination. so neatly tied every loose end in my opinion. a perfect end to this incredible duology. I love that she wasn't afraid to create the ojiji as blunt and cruel as they are. Anything else I say is un needed. love jordan ifueco. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Grief, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Murder, Gaslighting, Gore, Colonisation, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

eni_iilorak's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, War, Classism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content

Moderate: Ableism, Death of parent, Grief, Classism, Blood, Sexism, Slavery, Bullying, and Child abuse

Minor: Abandonment, Confinement, Drug use, and Sexual content

aseel_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

3.0

pretty disappointed in this one tbh. i liked the conclusion but the plot was so slow and we kept returning to the same issues for ages until we find made some plot progression but it was so slow. i think this one lacked the depth of plot that the first one had. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Bullying

Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Violence, Murder, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, Child death, Death, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

hollyk's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective tense 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

I can't help but feel a bit disappointed by this book. I wanted to love it--I loved Raybearer and thought it was so unique and loved all of the diversity.
But this book lacked some of the charm of the first book--namely, Dayo's council, who barely make an appearance before going back to their home realms. And in their place we have Tarisai creating a whole new council of people that to be frank, I had no real interest or investment in with the exception of Min Ja. 
It also seems like the empire still isn't really fair? Like sure,

Nyamba

underwent a revolution and became a more egalitarian state with no poverty, but Tarisai (and Dayo) didn't really keep that same energy when it came to Aritsar as a whole--sure,

the Ray can now be passed to anyone at any time, but that doesn't really change the fact that other realms have poverty and the capital has the majority of the resources, which aren't being redistributed like Nyamba did

. Nyamba also isn't a focal realm in the first book as far as I can remember, so it felt like this choice was less impactful than it could have been. 
The Redemptor arc was only the fifth section, and the previous book seemed to imply that it would be a major part of this book--but at the end of the day, it was barely a factor and could have been a much larger portion with more significance, especially in regards to

the Redemptor children and the abiku's army. That plot line felt too easily wrapped up when it was a major point of contention in the first book.

I still enjoyed this book, the writing is beautiful and the characters are great, but there were just some elements that left me wanting more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, and Death

Moderate: Sexism, Child abuse, Blood, Violence, Alcohol, Classism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Bullying, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, War, and Alcoholism

a_libra_library's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Classism, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Grief