Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

31 reviews

andromeda_1998's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Black sun is different from most books I read before. This adult fantasy novel has a different flow, a different feeling than most books in its genre and it does it’s job splendidly. But why does this book work?

Characters 
Through the book we follow 4 different characters. A sun priest, a pirate, a chosen one and a warrior. 
The sun priest, Naranpa, is a 33 year old woman devoted to the sungod. She once to make the temple into a place of healing and power for Tova (the city she lives in). I didn’t really like her point of view. I found her to be a bid bland and boring. Her POV was necessary though to tell the story and I would not have liked the book without her. 

A pirate, Xiala, Xiala is my favorite character. She’s bi, wild and fierce. She is a woman you don’t want to cross. 

A chosen one, Serapio, his story is an interesting one. I cannot tell you if this character is the hero or the villain of the story and that is why I like this book. I like that he is morally grey. 

A warrior, Okoa, we get to know him later in the story and while I didn’t not hate him as a character, I also didn’t like him. I find his type to be a bit boring but I know that he is the kind of character that others will love. 

Worldbuilding 
The worldbuilding is done splendidly. Throughout the book and by different pov’s we get to know this beautiful meso American inspired world. The world has magic but it isn’t a common practice. 

Writing 
The writingstyle takes some getting use to. The book stars slow and doesn’t follow the western way of pacing. I would recommend to not dnf this book in a early stage. Just read through it. 

I would recommend this book to adult readers (years 20+) the story isn’t necessarily brutal but the book has some adult themes better fitted to this category. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Death, Gore, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Blood, and Confinement

catastrophic's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

So much is great in this with a few big flaws. Amazing, unique magic system and world based on mesoamerican culture and mythology, it was incredibly compelling and refreshing. Huge fan of the swashbuckling bisexual pirate woman! And using neo pronouns, that was so great.
But the dialogue and emotional beats when characters were interacting were often odd and stilted, and the ending didn't land for me.
Still a great read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Blood, Classism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Murder

pinkhyxteria's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Gore

Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Torture

lynneliu's review

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Murder, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Bullying

Minor: Death of parent and Sexual content

clarabelitz's review

adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicide

aplpaca's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

I really enjoyed this book and recommend it. The world building is amazing and the characters are so much fun. It was super fun reading from several characters' perspectives and anticipating their paths colliding cataclysmically! Who do you root for when one of your POV characters is out to kill another? 

📘The Gist 📘: In legends, the crow god ate the sun. Now, he's on a journey to do it again. The story follows seafaring Xiala and her passenger Serapio as they make their way toward Tova for its solstice celebration. At the same time, the sun priest of Tova prepares for the festivities dedicated to renewal and finds herself embroiled in a political plot that could destabilize peaceful tribal alliances. 

📒Representation📒: Indigenous mcs and culture, bipoc mcs, neo pronouns, a-spec mc, nonbinary and trans sc, blind mc

💕 For readers looking for 💕: Epic fantasy, tribe society and characters, legends, scary gods, crows, multiple POV characters, LGBTQ+ characters

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Confinement, and Blood

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, and Suicide

Minor: Racial slurs

mfrank's review

adventurous challenging 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Violence

bodiesinbooks's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual content, Suicide, and Violence

Minor: Slavery and Cursing

poffalina's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

The worldbuilding in this book is lovely, and I really enjoyed getting a feel for the different people across the city of Tova and the wider world it inhabits. I was hooked into the different plot threads, and found the way they are woven together engaging. I really hope that there will be more coming to follow up on events at the end of this story

since the main points of conflict are left only partially resolved, and we are left with enticing cliff-hangers for the main cast of characters

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse