Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

44 reviews

yavin_iv's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Dysphoria, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Ableism, and War

Moderate: Slavery, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Alcohol, Abandonment, Cursing, and Homophobia

Minor: Child death

gudetama_vibes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark fast-paced

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

3.75

Chinese political period piece drama about a morally grey monk (a la Mulan) who had to make choices that went against most people’s ethical code to become “great”. With a sexy f/f nsfw scene that caught me off guard, in a good way. 

My qualms with the book come from the focus on the male “enemy” characters who I wanted less focus on and the lack of explanations on the soft worldbuilding on their magical aspects and ghosts - I felt mildly confused over some parts of it and it’s integration into the story. 

That said, it was still enjoyable and worth reading. I listened to the audiobook and the narration was amazing!!!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Cursing

armontheroad's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

READ THIS BOOK! This is heavy on the supernatural, light on the magical fantasy, but an absolute gem. I loved all of these characters, even though I really should not. The historical setting was such a breath of fresh air. Adored the trans-nonbinary rep, the queer rep, the asexual rep, and the disability rep. This book had everything I could ever want, with political intrigue as the cherry on top. Cannot wait for the sequel.

Content Warnings: Eye gore, etc (see listed below)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Body horror, Death of parent, Slavery, Alcohol, Violence, Colonisation, Sexism, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Cursing, War, Blood, Ableism, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Death

snowydaze's review against another edition

challenging hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

The changing povs took a while to get into and I just couldn't get into it. The ending also felt rushed after the build up of the rest of the novel. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Grief, Alcohol, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Torture, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Death, Medical content, and Misogyny

Minor: Sexual content

sunsetcity's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Gore, Trafficking, Violence, Toxic relationship, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Blood, Sexism, Body horror, Colonisation, War, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Slavery, and Torture

loupoulis's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Cursing, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Sexism, and War

mypatronusisajedi's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring tense slow-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, and War

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Pregnancy

mmefish's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Gore, and Sexual content

Minor: Animal death

fictionfixer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Shelley Parker-Chan’s She Who Became the Sun is a masterful work that first builds the deep, desperate desire residing within Zhu Chongba, showcases their resilience and strategy, and critiques the systems that failed them–all in order to lead me into following Zhu and their cause, before wrenching my heart out with its still-beating-heart-wrenching turning point. 

It weaves each character’s story with purpose and highlights how in war, in desperation, in love, there are no absolutes, and that more often, a compromise is necessary to survive. Yet, as brutal as the story gets, there are moments of quiet, accompanied by elegant prose that exude emotion out of its lyricism. 

Overall, She Who Became the Sun is a strong debut and I look forward to the second book of The Radiant Emperor duology.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Blood, War, Violence, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Death, Cursing, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Child death and Torture

foreverinastory's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

 And with this, I have read all three of the Sapphic Trifecta AKA the Classics.

This book was incredible. From the cast of characters, to the plot I was entraced from the first page. There were quite a few time jumps in this, but I found myself enjoying the way this story was told. Even though it spans years, we get enough of every part of Zhu's life. The ending was quite dark, I cannot wait to see what will come next!

Rep: Sapphic genderqueer BIPOC MC, genderqueer BIPOC eunuch MC, sapphic BIPOC female side character, side MLM relationship, supporting cast of BIPOC characters.

CWs: Ableism, alcohol consumption, animal death, blood, colonisation, cursing, death, death of parent, injury/injury detail, misogyny, murder, religious bigotry, sexism, sexual content, violence, war. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Blood, Alcohol, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, and War