Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

59 reviews

sparklefarm's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

A very enjoyable modern ghost story. Some truly spooky moments. I am not interested in being haunted by a vengeful god any time soon. (Also, not a bad idea to consult the content warnings if you are sensitive to attempted SA.)

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Death, and Blood

Minor: Cancer

bearbookshelf's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

It isn't often a pick up a contemporary fantasy, and it's even less often I find one so truly enjoyable. Cho's prose has a natural unassuming quality that delivered like a blow to the gut- what a delicately executed tale of generational trauma. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Murder, Homophobia, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia

anaccbram's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Gaslighting, Blood, Sexual harassment, Murder, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Rape, Medical trauma, and Homophobia

traa's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Violence, Cursing, Outing, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Cancer, Drug use, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Cursing, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Slavery, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Medical content, Stalking, Gun violence, and Racism

thistle_rose's review against another edition

adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

4.0

Good YA book, not reaching much higher

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Sexual assault, and Blood

marysespieces's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

Moderate: Blood and Outing

Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Cancer

hazeyjane_2's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring 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? No

3.0

A solid enough journey through the eyes of an ABC Malaysian. Jess is an intelligent heroine, albeit one who fits the model minority stereotype, which I am getting heartily sick of reading about. I did appreciate that she was out of her depth in Malaysia, but she still seemed to accomplish things a bit too easily. I found the titular character and her story much more compelling than either Ah Ma or Jess.

Excellent cultural backdrop, great Manglish I could hear in my head and bonus points for not translating. Also plus points for featuring all characters of colour. I was expecting a somewhat scarier and more adventurous book, similar to The Ghost Bride, but this one was bloated around the middle. It could've been shorter around the middle.

I appreciated that the lesbian romance wasn't made a central point of the book, but was mentioned incidentally.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Sexual violence and Violence

gigireadswithkiki's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

"Black Water Sister" has made me realize how woefully ignorant I am of Malaysia and the Malaysian diaspora!!! I loved all the content about Malaysia from the folklore to the customs to the cuisine, expanding my knowledge of the vibrancy of the country. Jess and her grandmother Ah Ma were super interesting characters to follow along with, and I enjoyed Ah Ma's constant commentary, which reminded me so vividly of my own grandmother. The messages on intergenerational trauma were done masterfully, evoking feelings of teary-eyed healing and self-righteous justice. 

My only gripe is how the conclusion of the gentrification in the story felt way-laid in favor of the family dynamics, even though gentrification plays a very large part in the overall story, to the point where it felt the conclusion was, "gentrification is bad but some gentrification is okay to prevent even bigger gentrification from happening". This facet of the ending didn't sit too well with me, but otherwise I enjoyed the book for it's lively characters and well-paced plot!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Xenophobia, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Confinement, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Homophobia

Minor: Cancer and Rape

madamenovelist's review

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, Cursing, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Gore, Torture, Classism, Death of parent, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Rape, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Sexual assault

The death/gore/violence is more graphic than the sexual assault. The assault starts but is cut off immediately (cue violence). So if you are very sensitive, I would say this book is too graphic.

nialiversuch's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Murder, Blood, Death, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, and Violence

Moderate: Religious bigotry and Infidelity