Reviews

Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances by Aliette de Bodard

kris7's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

cybergoths's review

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious fast-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

5.0

wellreadsquid's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I've been practically eating up everything to do with Thaun and Asmodeus even though I have yet to read the main series. She has not disappointed me with this and the character development between the two of them is so wonderful especially since it shows them having real conflict with each other and having to learn to solve it even though they're a couple. 

I'll have a full review on my site but for now I just want to say I hope Bodard writes another. I hope this is not the last we see of Thaun and Asmodeus.

kimu23's review against another edition

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

Wish I could see more of Thuan and Asmodeus relationship, but this is a pretty cute novella to read.

karebic's review

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

ephermeyal's review

dark emotional 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

I love my babies so much mwah I can't get enough of their really interesting push and pull dynamic and how they've grown hhh

catapocalypse's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

I loved this installment of the Dragons and Blades novellas even better than the first!

As with the first, we follow dragon prince Thuan and his Fallen angel husband, Asmodeus, on another visit to the dragon kingdom beneath the Seine. While babysitting their nieces, Ai Nhi and Camille, they stumble upon a peculiar ghost child in an abandoned shrine, as well as the remains from a more recent murder.

This romp is more action-packed than the first, with some unusual magic and intense conflicts. And I adored the kids! Another great addition to the Dominion of the Fallen world.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Death

Moderate: Murder, Child death, Misogyny, and Torture

invisibleninjacat's review

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

Loved Thuan and Asmodeus having to deal with both babysitting and a bunch of ghost mysteries at the same time. 

thequeerbookish's review

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

 

I nearly DNF-ed this so many times, how did I manage to finish this book?

First, Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances is supposed to be a standalone. It really, really doesn’t read like it. At all. I was thrown into a universe I knew absolutely nothing about, but felt like I was expected to do so.

Thanks to that connecting to the characters – oh gods, so many characters – felt damn near impossible without the proper background knowledge. So I struggled on while trying to gather as much information as possible. Or tried to. Instead, I gathered a lot of unnecessary repetitions. Kindle pos. 379 tells us, Asmodeus and Thuan’s marriage is six years old. Kindle pos. 384 tells us again, they’ve been married for six years. THAT’S ON THE SAME DAMN PAGE! Are you fucking kidding me? I want to stress I read an ARC so I’m seriously hoping it got fixed before publication but I’m still wondering how those repetitions made it into the ARC.

Perhaps you’re able to sense the emotion I mostly felt while reading Aliette de Bodard’s book. It’s annoyance. I could rant on and on but I’ll stop it with this little ending thought: I wasted my time reading this queer paranormal romance and I’m especially disappointed because I was so excited about it! Vietnamese-inspired mythology meets fallen angels. What’s not to like?

Apparently a lot. 

 Disclaimer
I received a free copy through NetGalles in exchange for an honest review. Thank you. 

arachan's review

adventurous dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

This is a fun, dynamic read where the only issue I had was that it was too short.  

Thuan is an adorable dork, his husband bristles with real menace that doesn't hide how much he cares and there's an adorable blood hungry ghost child.

Very highly recommended.