Reviews tagging 'War'

A Psalm of Storms and Silence - Die Magie von Solstasia by Roseanne A. Brown

21 reviews

kittykels's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I had a few minor complaints about this book and the writing (telling rather than showing certain things, etc.), but the things I loved about this book, I really, really loved. So it gets a full 5 stars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Violence, War, and Torture

Minor: Sexual content

megdconway's review against another edition

medium-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Slavery, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Death, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racial slurs, Death of parent, Grief, and Child abuse

nettle_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.75

I could not get enough of this forbidden love that was somehow encouraged and hated by the gods. It had so much awareness for so many topics including suicide, grooming, racism, transphobia, trauma, abuse, and I guess I was very seen by having these topics discussed. It has so many layers of magic I will not even try to explain but it was magical hearing about the magic. 
It has a more deep dive into the same topics so many fantasy YA books have so don’t run away because of the content warnings.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Gore, Kidnapping, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicide, Trafficking, Violence, Abandonment, Classism, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide attempt, Torture, Transphobia, War, Sexual violence, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

readin_as_i_go's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad 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? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: War and Sexual assault

lochanreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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? No

4.0

I loved reading this! It's so immersive and vivid and there's lots of character diversity and growth. Hananae took some warming up to but the conflict, the romance, the action, and the world-building was so absorbing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, Self harm, Torture, Grief, Death, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Colonisation

mshai's review against another edition

adventurous reflective 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

4.75

I much preferred this to the first one. Thought it was beautifully written and really emotionally charged. Highly recommend 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: War

aseel_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

2.75

I liked how the ending came about, it was a good plot, not unrealistic but it was quite slow and I just didn't care or connect with any of the characters but I liked their arcs

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Trafficking, Violence, War, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Child death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Death, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping

strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book was fabulous! An upper YA fantasy book and the second in A Song of Wraiths and Ruin duology. This duology is full of African mythology and a setting similar. The prose is wonderfully written and concludes the story of Karina and Malik in a way that, while somewhat disappointing, makes sense for the way their characters have developed. 

Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, untimely ascension, Found Family, assassinations. 

I loved the magic system and how Roseanne A. Brown made it all fit within a set mythology of the world. Nothing about the magic system seemed out of place or like it didn’t make sense.

There is wonderful disability representation with anxiety, depression, and what seems to me to be autism. There is also a lot of LGBTQ+ representation and I think every character is a person of color (don’t quote me on that I don’t see pictures when I read I have no idea what these characters look like). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, War, Child abuse, Classism, Grief, Racism, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Kidnapping

Grooming

sunlit_music's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

A fitting and triumphant end to a marvellous duology!! 

Plot - 5/5. The plot is original, easy to follow, makes sense, was exciting and full of tension and action, and kept me engaged from start to finish. 

Characters - 5/5. All characters are believable, complex, act in character. They're all distinct and easy to tell apart. All of them are so interesting - not just the major characters, but also the minor ones! I love Yaema, Driss' and Tunde's relatives. I love Malik's sisters Leila and Nadia. Nadia is so freaking adorable!! The way she comforts Hanane by saying, "You look like a princess! You look normal!" Was so cute!

Caracal is funny and delightful, and Karina is badass and vulnerable. Afua is lovely and sweet, Hanane is fierce and lovable, and Malik has an incredible character arc. There's so many great characters to read about!

Pacing - Pacing was fast during action scenes, while still easy to follow, and that's when you know you're reading a great book. Pacing slowed down during thoughtful scenes where characters are resolving disputes, goofing off, supporting each other, which helped me understand and appreciate them more. Pacing was great, in short. :)

Representation - representation is INCREDIBLE! There's Ife, who is autistic and non binary, has a great sense of humour and so much charm. Malik has depression and self harms, and isn't portrayed as a saint or villain, but a real, flawed human being who is sometimes kind and at other times ruthless. He redeems himself in the end and what I appreciate about him is that he admits redemption is an ongoing thing, not a one off action. 

Characters are BIPOC (Black, from different nations) and portrayed in a nuanced, thoughtful manner. There's plenty of interesting, strong and brave characters of all genders and ages. 

World building - the history and mythology of the story's world is rich, detailed, lush and immersive. I love reading about the necropolis and pharaohs, and learning about the complex and painful history between Karina's and Malik's ancestors. I appreciate how this isn't a simple story of people who are purely good and evil, but flawed people trying to do what they think is right. I love how the story shows that some people can change for the better. 

The scenes about the omens are vivid, spine chilling and I didn't see the scenes with the last omen coming! It was a totally unexpected plot twist, but made sense. 

Ending - I love the ending, it's hopeful, uplifting while still being realistic. The way Karina solves her problems is inventive and clever, and feels hard won. 

The narrators are all amazing, they're so talented! They all added humour, pathos and emotion to the characters they voiced. The e-book is wonderful, but if you can do it, buy the audio book - because the narrators/voice actors all make the characters and story come to life!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Toxic relationship, and Torture

Moderate: Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm

kaylamoran's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

I am obsessed with this duology.  I absolutely loved book 1 and was so worried that this one wouldn't live up to it, but I liked it even more!  Both easy 5 star reads for me.
Malik has my heart and I'd die for him.
I'll definitely be checking out anything else Roseanne A. Brown writes.  Everything about this felt so unique, and even the tropes didn't feel tropey.  It was genuinely unpredictable, which for someone who reads as much YA fantasy as i do, can be very difficult to achieve.
Did I mention I love Malik?  I love Malik.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Gaslighting, Self harm, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Blood, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and War

Minor: Kidnapping, Alcohol, Bullying, Confinement, and Fire/Fire injury