Reviews tagging 'Islamophobia'

And I Darken by Kiersten White

7 reviews

4riareads's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Abandonment, Islamophobia, War, Grief, Homophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Violence

Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, Slavery, Physical abuse, Bullying, Murder, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Fire/Fire injury

thaliareads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

3.0

For me, the beginning of the book felt a bit meandering and by the time I made it to the end I understood the setup and enjoyed the story overall, but I think if I hadn't been listening to the audiobook I would have stopped reading pretty early on because it didn't grab my attention until about halfway through. However, I'm glad I did finish it. I would read or listen to the next book in the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Abandonment, Child death, and Confinement

Moderate: Death, Murder, Islamophobia, Homophobia, Slavery, Religious bigotry, War, and Torture

Minor: Death of parent

I want to start by prefacing that the author does not come off as homophobic, islamaphobic, or otherwise bigoted. These content warnings are present because of the time period and context of when the book takes place. Spoilers to clarify:

In this book the two main characters are basically sold to the primary ruler of the region in exchange for more support fighting his battles. The region where this ruler presides is primarily Islamic and while one of the MCs finds it fascinating and comforting in their time of crisis, the other doesn't want to be forced from the religion they've grown up in and does come across as bigoted. In addition, due to the time period, women are seen as secondary citizens and really lack the respect of the men. This is a consistent recurring theme throughout the entire book where one of the MCs is denied equal treatment and denied the ability to follow her desired path in life. The next issue is that one of the MCs realizes that they're gay however, once again, due to the time period it wasn't safe for them to be open about who they are. While they do find solace in certain people who feel the same way they do, there's still an overwhelming sadness about the closeted nature with which the MC must live. Finally, as it is war time on and off throughout the book there are instances of torture, death, and murder throughout the entire plot, including one of the MCs accidentally killing a child during a conflict.

reclusivebookslug's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? Yes

4.75

I first read this book several years ago. I loved it, even though it was one of the hardest for me to read. It was denser, slower-paced, and had a darker tone than what I was used to. It has this pervasive sense of dread, one disaster happening after another. And there is sparse comfort to be found, even in the characters' dearest relationships. Nothing is ever safe or secure or completely happy. There are scenes of (historically accurate and normalized) abuse and injustice that turns my stomach. At that time I also started reading the second book but didn't get very far in before abandoning it. Since then, I have regularly looked at this series sitting on my bookshelf and wanted to read it but was too intimidated to.

Now I have reread the first book and plan to finally finish reading the series. I'm older now and have more experience reading complex and dark books. It made me aware of my growth as a reader.

I consider this one of my favorite books. It is captivating, even when it is challenging or devastating or frustrating. I have thought about and loved this book even after reading it just once, years ago, and even without reading the rest of the series. I feel so deeply for both Lada and Radu, despite how deeply flawed they are, how different they are, and how often their interests are in opposition to each other. That's what continues to make it a challenging read - I want a happy ending for everyone, but I can't imagine a way that could happen in their circumstances.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Abandonment, Death, Torture, Sexual assault, Sexism, War, and Islamophobia

Minor: Classism and Colonisation

andrikkk's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Blood, Sexism, Violence, War, Bullying, Gore, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, and Murder

Moderate: Rape, Xenophobia, Cursing, Grief, Sexism, and Homophobia

elwirax's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

3.5

*3.5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Rape

Moderate: Islamophobia

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

sarahsbooklife's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, Violence, Religious bigotry, Rape, Sexual assault, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Islamophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Physical abuse, and Trafficking

Minor: Child death and Death of parent

lapis's review

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Torture

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Islamophobia

Minor: Slavery and Medical content

Islamophobia: it's during the crusades and one of the characters views religion as a tool, but also thinks poorly of Islam. One of the other characters

converts to Islam secretly

and for what it's worth I think the author treats the subject with respect.