Reviews with content warning for Murder - Red Sister

Albeit an interesting read, filled with wonderful writing, thoughts and several "perfect sentences", I can't help but feel let down by the blandness of the clichéd world and characters. Pretty predictable in most cases, the world-building is uninspiring and the antagonists are one-dimensional.

The world seemingly tries not to be Earth, yet they use the Arabic alphabet. That was pretty unnecessary and immersion shattering. Then, the main villain of this book is evil just because he is, fueled by his genetics that make him strong way above average ("fingers around which a child can't wrap their own fingers", and then predictably he gets possessed by demons and becomes even eviler. Give me a break.

None of the characters seem to matter or their deeds to carry enough weight. It is obvious what everyone's next move will be, there's no surprise, whole most of the storyline could have happened without them. When they perish, that fact doesn't really do much in this grim world.

A tortured donkey elicits a bigger emotional response than most of the people who have very little to their character besides some quirks. Possibly because that is the only instance where some sort of justice isn't served instantly.

There are some other clichés, like an implied sci-fi past, which is fine though not much is revealed, and two types of magical power sources: the one that can be "tapped" into at the risk of corruption, and the other that grants more power while in the proximity of some sort of "phlebotinum". Yet, my biggest issue with the whole book was obviously the troublesome eugenics trope. Not only is it boring that some people are different without merit, but it is a stupid and dangerous idea, as anyone with common sense has already realised. This idea doesn't help the narrative as it doesn't involve me, as a reader, deeper into the lore. It doesn't serve as a key element to the plot, the book could have done without it. I just shake my head whenever it is mentioned. And then there are "blood mixings" with some of the people being "pure" while others even a "perfect mix" of sorts. Don't get me wrong: the book is not racist in the modern sense, but this idea – that some are born to be better in some way than those of different bloodlines – is just lame to me and averts me from the world of the novel.

In many ways, it is an ambiguous novel, with some qualities shining through the lines, while some problems drag it down into the mediocre. Exposure is often written just a few breaths before they become relevant, while some events are embedded throughout and serve as a genuine surprise in retrospect. It often reads like a young adult novel, with ideas that have been old and overused more than twenty years ago. Yet, there are plentiful gems inside it in terms of engaging, masterful writing and witty thoughts that make it rise above the average young adult novel (and increase my rating). For that alone, it was a worthwhile journey.

Sadly the ending, while pretty much sudden and a cutting off with a cliffhanger, doesn't draw me to explore further.

Content Warnings

carissa230's review against another edition

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emotional tense slow-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

2.5

Nona's mother has sold her. She finds herself on a path to unknown places with a group of other kids. When she gets to the first place she almost kills someone that has an important father. She finds herself in prison, but is saved by the Convent of Sweet Mercy.

The Convent raises girls to be warriors. The girls are trained in many ways from fighting to potion making. Nona is great at everything she does. She quickly rises to the top.

The book has a good premises. The set up is ready for the next book. I just found it hard to really care what was happening. Maybe if I had physically read it instead of audio, but I tried physically reading it first and had the same issue. Pretty sure by the ratings it's a me issue.

Content Warnings

ailsaod's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

4.0

Not quite sure what to make of this book but it was much better than I was expecting from a premise that boils down to 'murder nuns'. Like everyone else the first paragraph had all my attention but then the following two pages or so of excessive purple prose about the cold put me right off again. Then we had some lovely

child death

immediately after and I was feeling decidedly unenthused. I got this book with the intention of giving it to my sibling when I finished it though so I had a deadline and continued to slog through the next fifty or so pages. Then the book slowly began to get good. We got to know the side characters, the world building turned out to be very interesting and Nona revealed herself to be a shameless liar and suddenly I was invested again. Then we reached the end of part one and what I thought was an exact repeat of that dreaded prologue but instead it dangled some very interesting hints (red herring that I absolutely fell for included) and then not only was I invested in the book's present but also in what was going to happen for the events of the prologue to occur at some point in the future!

This book is very engaging but it is also a bit on the edgy side - though it pulls it off without seeming ridiculous, unlike some books I could name. It is never quite explained why 'Red sisters' (AKA the aforementioned murder nuns) are a thing other some vague mentions of acting on behalf of the church which does leave me a bit puzzled.

The ending of this book felt like a lot. Tonnes of different things were going on and all were important, chekov's guns were going off all over the place and when it was over I had no idea what to make of it (I still don't) but plan to continue on with the series.

Content Warnings