Reviews tagging 'Death'

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

41 reviews

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

lady_valhella's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-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

Picking right up where Hyena left of we continue on the path of Malik and Karina’s story. We learn what happens after Solstasia and where that leads Malik and all the adventures Karina goes on. I also think the Ms. Brown handles the darker themes of grooming and self harm well without delving into triggering topics graphically. I would love to read some stories about the side character also, specifically Afua,  Ife, and Leia and Nadia. Malik has a good heart but alas they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Confinement, Torture, Trafficking, and Physical abuse

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

koerli's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Abandonment

It is a great book, deals amazing with all the problems!

studieswithj101's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring 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

Surprisingly, I enjoyed this book more than the first one in the series. Maybe it was because I connected with and was getting to know the characters better, but I really enjoyed this storyline. It felt like there was more action than the first book and you got a better understanding of the characters! I also wanted to point out how this book was more diverse (in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, and even neurodivergence) than most popular fantasy books and I appreciated that!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Death and Emotional abuse

some_random_person_hi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

Chapter 31 <33333
Starting from arnd pg 300 this book got from good to great.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Death, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Self harm, and Torture

Minor: Sexual content, Alcohol, and Transphobia

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

internationalreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, War, Blood, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Animal death, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Racial slurs

blueberry0531's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Self harm, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Torture, Sexual content, Blood, and Death

Minor: Trafficking and Sexual assault