Reviews tagging 'Grief'

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

35 reviews

featherinthewind's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense slow-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

3.25

A magnificent read about dragons and history that had an underlying note of love. I really did enjoy this book but boy was I not expecting that ending.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

novella42's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed the angle of writing a 19-yr old character from the vantage of an older woman publishing her devil-may-care memoir. Perhaps because of that, I liked the protagonist more than I expected. One of my favorite parts of the story was Kate Reading's performance as audiobook narrator, as she was a phenomenal fit for pretty much every character. The voices, emotion, and nuance she brought to the story gave it a rich texture that I would have missed if I was simply reading the text. (I'm familiar with her work in Sanderson's Way of Kings and was impressed how much more her voice seemed to come alive with this story. Maybe she really resonated with this story in particular?) The scientific mindset and world building were excellent, and it's always lovely to have more examples of women in STEM fields, even in the fantasy genre. I took away a star because unfortunately I'm not very into mysteries and the book's pacing was slow for me. I almost didn't get the audiobook finished before the library reclaimed it, but I also enjoyed dipping in and out of it for a few weeks. Not every story calls for a fast pace, and this one was well told.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Classism

ok7a's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Sexism and Xenophobia

Minor: Miscarriage

werewoof64's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

This is a wonderful read! A brilliant story that really makes you feel part of the world. The emotional moments hit hard and the enthusiasm is contagious throughout. I could hardly bare to put the book down, it was so good and really manages to get its hooks in you! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Miscarriage, Grief, and Murder

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, and Blood

Minor: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

maelikesbooks's review against another edition

adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

Such a lovely, gripping book.

The story itself is fun and intriguing, but the protagonist Lady Trent is so easy to root for that it makes this book a delightful experience. I loved the way her youthful nativity, enthusiasm and passion as a young woman contrast with the self-awareness and sense of humour of her older self as she narrates the story.

Great springtime read, can’t wait to pick up the sequels.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, and Grief

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Misogyny

Minor: Body horror, Gore, Murder, and Pregnancy

emmasrambles's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Death, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, and Grief

puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, and Grief

Moderate: Gun violence, Miscarriage, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Colonisation

paintedthree's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

I love dragons, and had a great time reading this. I'm thinking of getting the next book in the series to read too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Miscarriage and Grief

elenamarmiroli's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

Questo libro mi è sembrato più a metà tra un autobiografia, con tratti addirittura simili ad un romanzo storico, e testo scientifico sui draghi. E devo ammettere che questa cosa mi stava piacendo un sacco, anche per gli argomenti trattati riguarda alla posizione della donna in questa società fittizia, e la voglia di emancipazione della protagonista.

Purtroppo però verso la fine dell'opera il focus scientifico viene meno e l'opera prende una direzione inaspettata che non mi ha convinto per nulla, soprattutto perché non mi sembra collegata al resto dell'opera in maniera organica.

Mi sarebbe piaciuto invece leggere di più riguardo al suo studio scientifico dei draghi anche verso il finale dell'opera, perché questo taglio mi stava piacendo tantissimo, ma purtroppo non si può aver tutto dalla vita.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Grief, and Murder