Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang

19 reviews

beckahh_i's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful inspiring tense 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

4.25


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

stacyaj's review

Go to review page

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

4.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

rheagoveas's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny 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? No

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ninjamuse's review

Go to review page

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

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

jrbenson95's review

Go to review page

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

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

displacedcactus's review against another edition

Go to review page

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? No
This book was something alright. Queer, feminist retelling of the classic Chinese story The Water Margin, but it was really violent and some of the heroes took some actions which were so unheroic I almost DNFed about 2/3-3/4 of the way through... and then it was never mentioned again and had no real impact on the story so it felt like it was just there for shock value? Make sure you read the  TW/CW on this one, and realize that some of this stuff is done by the protagonists, not just the antagonists! 

For those who prefer their books without romance, it didn't have any romantic subplot, so there's that. 

Over all, the writing was pretty strong. Characters behaved consistently, pacing didn't bog down too much, and the martial arts fights were really well-described, allowing me to really picture them as scenes from a wuxia film! I suspect some readers who really enjoy morally grey/anti-hero characters will enjoy the heck out of this one. I definitely enjoyed parts of it, but overall it wasn't one of my favorite reads of the year and I'd hesitate to recommend it without a whole lot of caveats.

Note: I've never read The Water Margin so I don't know how closely this cleaves to the original and how many of my complaints are related to the original content. I don't feel like my enjoyment of the best parts of the book was hampered by my lack of familiarity with the book that inspired it, but probably people who are familiar will get more enjoyment!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

leanne_miron's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

leweylibrary's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous inspiring slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

I wanted to love this so badly, and it was sooo close to being amazing for me, especially the beginning and end. But the middle was what lost me really, I found myself getting a bit bored even though the plot was supposed to be exciting. It was also hard for me to keep track of the characters, but I think a lot of that was because I was doing it on audiobook. I did appreciate the LGBTQIA characters and the general premise, but I would've liked it more if I had more from the MC's POV because that's the storyline that got me hooked and made me want to read it. There were some really fun and exciting parts, and I'd still probably read a second book if there is one.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

fairyko's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad 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

I think there's a new favourite on my shelf. Character development, a story that does not drag on, rather fast paced and a flawless integration of lgbtq+ characters. 
I'm so glad I got to read this.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...