Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn

30 reviews

mamareadstuff's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I started reading a physical copy, and couldn't was quite get into the writing style, but I think it was more because I couldn't hear the pronunciation as written. Once I switched to the audio and could hear the pronunciation/dialect as it was written it was hard not to fall in love with the characters, to feel where they are in life, the lack of choices they felt they had, how tourism can often have negative effects on the local people, and how individual choices have impacted not only their own lives, but rheir loved ones and their community as well. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Body horror, Child abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Violence

kittykels's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

I'd recommend looking up content warnings before reading OR just being aware that this book tackles some difficult stuff. However, the story is gripping and beautifully told. The narrator was wonderful as well. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Sexism, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Dysphoria

Minor: Animal death, Outing, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, and Racial slurs

kelisabeth's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Murder, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Blood, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Grief, Biphobia, Sexism, Trafficking, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Child abuse, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Classism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Chronic illness, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Misogyny, and Self harm

ccerpa's review against another edition

1.75

Charles feels like the only consistent character in this entire book 💀 so much homophobia, sexual assault, violent intergenerational trauma, and colorism for what is an incredibly unsatisfying ending

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Sexual assault

jadenchimes06's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Self harm, Alcohol, Cursing, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Rape, Racism, and Violence

sohva's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.25

I am conflicted of this book. On one hand it is well-written, the characters are interesting and the description of the environment is immersive. On the other hand there is no sense of direction for the majority of the book. The characters just get worse and worse and get into shittier and shittier situation, but it is unclear until close to the end whether this solves any purpose.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Lesbophobia, Racism, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Sexism

Moderate: Dementia, Abandonment, and Classism

lostinthelibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.5

This was a tough but rewarding read. The characters and the setting just spring from the page and I felt a full range of emotions and opinions regarding them. The Jamaican patois and the nature images added even more to a grim story in a vibrant setting. This is a book I won't be forgetting in a hurry.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Lesbophobia, Pedophilia, and Child abuse

Moderate: Classism and Hate crime

rworrall78's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

5.0

Amazing. Complicated lives and motivations. People doing terrible things because terrible things have been done to them. And people doing terrible things because they think it will save someone else (and maybe themselves). Others do terrible things because their money and the centuries of colonial privilege and theft mean they think they can do what they like. 
Shines a light on the destruction wrought on people and communities by capitalism, colonialism, violence to women, racism and colourism. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Homophobia, and Rape

Moderate: Violence and Colonisation

introvertsbookclub's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Heavy, intense and incredibly dark, this novel explores the choices that the most vulnerable people are forced to make to survive. The characters and their actions range across the entire spectrum of morality, some of them do bad things for good reasons, some do awful things for which there are no excuse, but they all end up betraying the people they are trying to protect.

The village the novel takes place within is full of overlapping relationships and loyalties. The plot is driven by the imbalance of power between the rich and poor, the investors in the area and the people who actually live there. Within the community of inhabitants, desperation drives greed and violence, and colourism, homophobia and sexism are easy ways to assert a little bit of dominance over someone else. But Dennis-Benn makes clear throughout that the bleakness that has descended upon the village is a result of exploitation and poverty.

A rich tapestry of characters live within the village. The novel follows a family of women and explores the relationships between mothers and daughters, sisters, neighbours, lovers, sex workers and bosses. A lot of abuse is perpetrated, but there are also attempts to protect one another and carve out a future. It is a multi-faceted story, full of detail and emotion and unique perspectives. At time it is difficult to read, but it is worth it in the end.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

midnightmarauder's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.5

Despite the colorful, light-hearted book cover and title, this novel is anything but.

Here Comes the Sun follows Margot, a woman living in the fictional town of River Bank, Jamaica. She lives in a shack with her mother, Delores, sister Thandi, and senile grandmother Merle. By day, she works the front desk of a hotel, but by night, she

doubles as a prostitute

, working to make a better life for both herself and her sister, Thandi. 

Her second occupation is not the only secret she hides, however; she is also in a romantic relationship with a woman named Verdene, the town's pariah. 

What I liked about the novel was that it covered many themes. Some of the main themes covered include colorism, generational trauma/curses, classism, gentrification, and lesbophobia. The central theme in the book seems to be generational curses and the effect it has on people in adulthood. 

Margot was born when Delores was fourteen years old, and

it is implied that she was conceived by rape

. This caused Delores to resent Margot her entire life, never showing her any love or affection. Later, when Margot was in her early teen years, Delores

sold her to men for money. Delores also stated that she did it to "fix her", because Margot had expressed an early attraction to Verdene.

This early trauma leads Margot into hypersexuality as an adult,

thus sprouting her career in prostitution

.

It is implied that Delores went through similar treatment at the hands of her mother, Merle. So, the generational curse continued to be passed down. 

Margot's overall goal is to make it to the top so that she can leave River Bank in the rearview, along with the trauma she faced growing up. But, the things she has to do to get there don't sit well with her, ultimately eating her up so much that she

ends up getting away from River Bank, but at the expense of the ones she loved

. 

Nicole Dennis-Benn did a wonderful job at developing the characters. Authors can sometimes make their protagonists either too flawed or not flawed enough. Nicole found the right mix for each character she created. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It was heartbreaking, yet kept me continuously flipping to the next page, anticipating what would happen next. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Colonisation, Misogyny, Abandonment, Lesbophobia, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Death

Minor: Outing