Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

7 reviews

birdofalltrades's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Violence, Bullying, Classism, Grief, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Murder, Blood, and Sexism

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, and Alcoholism

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, and Infertility

katie_thompson's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense slow-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 of parent, Emotional abuse, Death, Grief, Murder, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Racism, and War

Moderate: Physical abuse, Confinement, and Cursing

Minor: Abortion

glittergoblin13's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-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

I truly enjoyed this book. I couldn't put it down! It was deeply emotional and made me feel, which is absolutely what I look for in books. I personally didn't take any issue with the pacing or the characterization. I found both to my liking.

This is not a story of grand battles or action and I found that extremely refreshing. Maia is not brash, loud, or aggressive.  He is soft, thoughtful, uncertain, and lonely, trying desperately not to lose himself entirely in learning to become emperor. I love that about him because it feels extremely fitting for someone who survived abandonment and physical and emotional abuse. Maia isn't angry, even: he wants to be kind because he doesn't want anyone to feel the way he's felt. I am a sucker for that kind of narrative. <3 

My only complaint is tiny, in the grand scheme of things: the naming conventions in this novel are annoying. Not annoying enough to take anything off the rating, but enough that I have to mention it. I ended up ignoring the conventions altogether and just pronouncing everything the way I thought they might be. It didn't matter too much, after all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Racism, Death of parent, Grief, and Misogyny

achingallover's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful tense slow-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: Child abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Suicide, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, and Grief

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexism

Minor: Violence, Suicide, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, and Murder

snowkestrel's review

adventurous lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

• 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: Suicide

Moderate: Violence and Domestic abuse

Minor: Murder, Physical abuse, Car accident, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Racism

One character's ritualistic suicide is shown openly, involves blood but is not violent.

thereadinghammock's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective 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

3.0

This book is heavy with world building. I struggled with the naming conventions and pronunciations of everything that reading the physical book was a chore. After switching to the audiobook, I found it was a bit easier to follow, especially since there were character voices to figure out who was who. 

The book is super slow in the first half and only really picks up after chapter 18, but even then, that level of set up isn't for everyone. It's a slog and while Maia and the folks he's close with are good characters, it did still feel like a struggle to make it to the end of this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Child abuse, Racism, Xenophobia, and Death of parent

Moderate: Car accident and Grief

Minor: Infertility, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Miscarriage