Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

79 reviews

rennhint's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

It was a beautiful story. Flawlessly queer, beautiful diverse. Wonderful poetic story. What a book

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Genocide, Colonisation, Slavery, Trafficking, War, Alcohol, Murder, and Sexual assault

pineapple_queen's review against another edition

adventurous 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Classism, Confinement, Misogyny, Murder, Homophobia, Colonisation, Addiction, Kidnapping, Outing, Child abuse, Alcohol, Torture, Blood, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexism

Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Physical abuse, Violence, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Trafficking, Slavery, Pedophilia, Murder, Mental illness, Grief, and Death

Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

its2early4this's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring reflective 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

4.0

This book was a wonderful, fast read. The world was rich and lovely. The characters felt incredibly real, and I absolutely adored the diverse representation. I would love to read more set in this universe. Unfortunately, the ending was a major disappointment for me. I couldn't see how the author was going to make a happy ending work, but was okay with that because I love a well-written tragic or bittersweet ending. However, the author forced a happy ending that, in my opinion, made no sense and came out of nowhere. Not to mention (spoiler ahead)

I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Flora and Evelyn are swimming around living "happily ever after" while the original Evelyn's corpse rots at the bottom of the sea. Will they encounter it at some point? Just. What the heck? Kind of spoils what was supposed to be a happy ending, anyway.

I was left with the sense that the author was either told that they shouldn't, or didn't want to write a sad ending, but - like me - couldn't find a logical conclusion, so they just stamped something at the end and called it good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, War, Addiction, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Murder, Rape, Trafficking, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Deadnaming, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Dysphoria, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry

This book is VERY HEAVY with a lot of its content. But if the potential misgendering/deadnaming is worrying you: it did make me a bit uncomfy at first, but as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that

Flora/Florian's relationship with their gender isn't clear-cut. Both names apply as do all pronouns, and a major part of the story is them coming to terms with that and growing comfortable being who they are unapologetically.

librariangeorgia's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

I actually picked this book up from Waterstones on a whim, and this is not the kind of book I’d usually go for.

Split into 3 sections, we follow the story of the mermaid (told in Flora and Evelyn’s perspective), the story of the witch (told in Flora, Evelyn and Rake’s perspective) and then the story of the sea (told in Flora, Evelyn, Rake and Genevieve’s perspective). I like that there was a new perspective added with each section so we got to see the bigger picture. I would’ve liked to have Alfie’s perspective as well as that would’ve been interesting along side Flora’s.

I absolutely adored Flora and Evelyn; they must be protected at all costs.

I found the magic element quite interesting, not what I was expecting to be honest but it fit quite well with the story.

Before I’d finished the book, I was hoping for a sequel. However, with the way it's ended, I feel happy that the whole story was wrapped up well - even if I was raging at /that/ moment. That being said, I wouldn’t be opposed to a prequel into Xenobia’s story!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Rape, Slavery, Homophobia, Torture, Death, and Violence

ezwolf's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense 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

First of all the way this book deals with gender is amazing and Florian is one of my favorite characters in relation to how they use gender and presentation and it was great. 

Second, if you’re looking for a pirate story sort of similar to Our Flag Means Death this is for you. They’re similar but also quite different. It’s got gay characters and non-binary pirates and nobility escaping their duties. 

I’m not usually one for alternating point of views but I thought all of these characters were great and even if you weren’t meant to root for them; they were still intriguing to read about and read their motivations. 

Flora and Evelyn’s relationship and the stories of love and how they overcome the idea that all love ends in heartbreak was wonderful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Misogyny, Homophobia, Grief, and Kidnapping

Minor: Sexual assault and Child abuse

dbogen47's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.5

It took me a little to get into this book, but I flew through the second half in almost one sitting. While I think there were a few inconsistencies and some underdeveloped world building (as is the case with a lot of stand alone fantasy) I think this was a pretty solid book. The ending overall definitely moved me. I will say the inclusion of the fourth perspective in the third part confused me. I’m not sure it was truly necessary.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Colonisation, Body horror, Homophobia, Death, and Abandonment

charliethebooklover's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

4.25

So. Many. Emotions.
Absolutely no words, this book was amazing! 
Check the content warnings if you choose to read this book. Other than that, read away

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Violence, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Rape, Gun violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Slavery, Murder, and Death

amaliewebs's review against another edition

4.5

such a good book, i loved the pirate/mermaid/witch vibes it was giving, plus a super cute sapphic romance yes please🥰 really good themes of identity and stuff too i loved it, and the different character povs were really good too. the plot was really well paced and exciting, overall a great book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Pedophilia, Lesbophobia, and Sexual assault

malva's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Torture, Death of parent, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Rape, Slavery, Sexual assault, Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, and Sexual harassment

doomluz's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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: Homophobia, Alcoholism, Lesbophobia, Death, and Torture

Moderate: Slavery

Minor: Sexual assault and Rape