Reviews tagging 'Death'

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

30 reviews

corvidkings's review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Bullying, and Death

Minor: Alcohol, Car accident, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry

kaidoz's review

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring 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? No

3.75

In the beginning, I wasn’t sure if I liked the premise. The story seemed to be moving a little slow even though the pace was quick, and I wasn’t sure if anything new would be offered in the last few chapters. I was wrong. The ending of the book was my favorite part because it pissed me off. I felt emotions that I couldn’t feel in the beginning and middle. This was proof that I had grown attached to these characters- to their story. I’ll be reading the sequel soon. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, and Sexual content

Minor: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

The main plot of the book centers around working against a totalitarian government with a violent military. The societal role of women in the book is very misogynistic as well, so be prepared for that along with the violence.

mothman19's review

adventurous mysterious 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Sexism, Police brutality, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, and Death

Moderate: Sexual assault

amanda_t's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? No

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Xenophobia, and Death

caoimhe9876's review

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Kidnapping

Minor: Alcoholism and Torture

obviousthings's review

emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.75

I thought the premise of this story was really cool and interesting, and I was impressed with the worldbuilding and how La Voz was written, but the book as a whole just did not work for me. 

Dani is naive and totally unprepared for the situations she finds herself in. I think this could have worked if it had been the point of the story - that might have been an interesting exploration of morality - but because this is YA, the narrative is on her side at all times. (Not something I fault the genre for, but because Dani is so far out of her depth, it doesn't work well here). I don't mind characters who make bad decisions, but it's really frustrating to watch a character make a bad decision and then have the narrative try to pass it off as totally reasonable. For much of the book I found myself wishing for a more capable protagonist.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Xenophobia, and Misogyny

Moderate: Bullying, Car accident, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Murder, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Police brutality

Minor: Blood, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Medical content

Warning for fire/a building burning

rinnykitty's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This book takes place on an island where every man of power gets two wives. And there's nothing we love to see more than the two wives of one of the most powerful men on the island fall in love and turn on him in the name of the revolution. If you're looking for a book about the weak and powerless fighting as hard as possible to stick it to the man, this book is worth checking out. It leaves on a giant cliffhanger, so it'll probably end up making anyone want to buy the second book right away. Also, I can not stop thinking about the part

where La Voz puts on a performance while wearing masks and burns down the marketplace. As horrifying it must've been, it sounded beautiful as well.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime and Police brutality

Moderate: Gun violence, Death, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Car accident and Medical trauma

This book is heavily centered on the military/police/authority power of the island. There is mention of death, guns, injuries, and a car accident. Also, the practice of buying wives and marrying strangers is in of itself what I consider a toxic relationship.

northernplunder's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexism, Police brutality, Death, and Misogyny

Minor: Gun violence, Bullying, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, and Kidnapping

joharis's review

tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I really enjoyed this book! The romance between the two female main characters was amazing, it had a little bit of yearning and an innocence of a new friendship. 

The book was medium paced and it talks about how the rich abuse the poor to stay in power in very simple direct terms that get the job done. 

Would highly recommend 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism

Minor: Alcoholism, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Gun violence, Death, and Bullying

booksthatburn's review

adventurous fast-paced

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

5.0

We Set The Dark on Fire centers intrigue, uncertainty, and revolution in a struggle for survival. The politics are interesting, the revolution is enigmatic and I want to see more in the next one. The dynamic with Claudia is great.

This book sets a class struggle on an island, where the elite rely on dividing women's lives in two, designed to give men access to everything while their wives suppress different parts of who they could be. The divide between Primeras and Segundas, when strictly observed, ensures that their husbands have someone to help with every part of their lives, while the Primeras are used for their minds and the Segundas are used for their bodies. The division is more complex than that, with girls training from ages 12-17 for their wedding, then going straight into marriage with one partner they might know (the Primera or Segunda to complement them) and one they will have never met before (their mutual husband).

I like how this book explores gendered expectations, with quotes from the Primera handbook reminding the reader how Dani ought to behave, even if she is diverging from those prescriptions. This is the second book of revolution that I've read in short succession (refer to my review of Beneath The Citadel), but while some small things overlap, the tone and plot are completely different. Dani's status as a continual outsider means that there is an uncertainty behind her thoughts and actions, and it helps to remind me that she's approximately seventeen at this point.

I can't leave this space without saying that this book explores queer romance (specifically lesbian romance) within this space of mistrust and uncertainty. Because this is the first book of an ongoing series I don't know yet how it'll play out and I'm not ready to decide how I feel about the relationships portrayed here. This is definitely not their final form.

This book reminds me of the Trickster saga by Tamora Pierce (Trickster's Choice / Trickster's Queen), I hope to review that here at some point, but the main thing is they share romance and island revolution against class structure. The Trickster saga has active involvement of deities, so I'm interested to see whether the gods in this series remain as a mythological backdrop or if it's the sort of story where they will take on a more active role.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Violence, and Death

CW for sexism, violence, death.