Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty

158 reviews

thecandiegirl's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, and Kidnapping

Minor: Sexual content

keelirae113's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

The story has a slow start, but once I got past the world building I was hooked! A fantastic read for anyone who has ever been told there is a “respectable” life they need to fit themselves into. You aren’t too much and anyone who thinks you are can go find less. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Slavery, Blood, Cursing, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Violence, Animal cruelty, Grief, Body horror, Classism, Death, Child abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Islamophobia, Murder, Racism, Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Torture, Addiction, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Drug use, Cannibalism, Cultural appropriation, Religious bigotry, and Stalking

kiwij96's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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? Yes

4.0

A middle aged female pirate is forced to come out of retirement for one more adventure. Re-recruiting her former crew to rescue the grandchild of a wealthy woman, who also happens to be the mother of another former crew member.

The story was engaging, with good characters: flawed people each with a deep history which brings them to life and makes them immediately likeable, and their relationships to each other are realistic and don't feel forced. And the plot developed at a reasonable pace, nothing felt rushed or out of place for the most part.

At about 65-70% of the way in, I personally felt like the plot lost its way a bit and absolutely could have been handled differently to make the book at least 100 pages shorter, and to be a fantastic standalone.

The island bit was genuinely so messy and felt so rushed and unnecessary, I almost put the book down. Anything from landing on the island to the moment when they found Magnun felt like filler, filler which is unfortunately a plotpoint for the continuation of the series.

Raksh also had the potential to be such a fun character, but the amount of times he used the phrase "sexual intercourse" honestly made my skin crawl. That was just unnecessary.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Blood, Torture, and Genocide

Moderate: Alcohol, Misogyny, Grief, Racism, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Sexism, and Islamophobia

machenn's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Murder, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

yolanda_h's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

cleo_reads's review against another edition

adventurous

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

4.5 stars. Completely enjoyed this immersive fantasy about a retired pirate captain / smuggler who brings her crew back together for one last job. Set in the world surrounding the Indian Ocean in the 12th C, but with magic.

I love fantasy adventures with middle aged protagonists and Amina is delightful. This is a rollicking pirate fantasy that is also a meditation on motherhood and sacrifice, regrets and middle age.

There’s no romance and unlike 98% of the fiction I read, the protagonist is cis and straight. There are queer supporting characters though and found family. Be warned, there’s a fair bit of violence and descriptions of atrocities. And some body horror.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, and Body horror

Moderate: Gore and Violence

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, and Religious bigotry

maryhungerford's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Minor: Sexual harassment

questingnotcoasting'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? No

4.0

This was such a fun read. I loved getting to know Amina and her crew and found the plot very engaging. I read the second half very quickly because I needed to know what would happen. It was darker than I was expecting at times but that added more depth and peril to the story. I didn't know it was the first in a series when I first picked it up and usually I don't like getting into fantasy series. However now I've finished it, I am actually excited for another one. This worked as a standalone story but also sets up more adventures perfectly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Moderate: Gore

Minor: Rape and Slavery

relin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I got stuck at 30% because I thought it was going to get spookier. Glad I followed my friend's advice and tried again because it was delightful and mystical. Nothing bad happens to the cat, and I'm excited for this to be a series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Classism, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Cursing, Violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Abandonment and Medical content

Minor: Trafficking and Slavery

Religious differences

themis_biblos's review against another edition

adventurous 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

3.75

 "This man could manifest as a beam of celestial light, and he chose to use that power to spy on a naked woman?" - "Are you surprised?" 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Death