Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

59 reviews

maeverose's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Suicide, Confinement, Death of parent, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Racism, and Sexual content

nicnevin's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I found the book very interesting but some bits more interesting than others. Xiala and Serapio were my favourites tbh. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Classism, Confinement, Death, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Animal death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Violence, and Xenophobia

llyfrauginger's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Murder, Sexual content, Grief, Alcohol, Cursing, Genocide, and Suicide

theespressoedition's review

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

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

4.0

What an absolutely wild ride this book was!

It started out with one of the craziest prologues I've ever read in my life. A little gruesome and definitely gave me the ick right off the bat, but also completely hooked me. The drama! The mystery! The horror! I absolutely had to know what came next.

The cast of characters was all over the place, in the best way possible. If you're looking for a wonderfully diverse cast, you're certainly going to get it with Black Sun. I'm not only speaking of sexuality and race, however. The personalities of these characters were so wide-ranging and totally blew me away. One moment I was positive that I had a favorite character and a least favorite character, then suddenly, my mind was changed entirely! I will say, however, that by the end of the book, I think Xiala and Serapio still take the top spots for favorite characters - for no reason other than the fact that they just fascinated me so much.

This story is filled with such incredible storytelling. There are characters that are convinced they can turn themselves to gods, characters that are fantastical creatures, and characters that can communicate with animals. While the world-building is similar to most adult fantasy novels (a bit slower-paced towards the beginning and picking up during the second half of the book), the characters keep you glued to the pages, dying to know what's going to happen. I wouldn't necessarily say that any of these characters had major growth during this particular book, but the way they were written made you want to see how their story progresses.

I did get slightly confused by the number of POVs and timelines throughout the book, which is the primary reason why this one didn't get a full 5 stars from me. But, if you don't mind new POVs being added halfway through or the timelines switching every other chapter, you'll be just fine! That's 100% a personal thing for me.

Overall, I can't recommend this enough. There are a few pretty gory moments, but nothing that lasts so long as to really bother (and I'm an incredibly sensitive reader). It's certainly unlike any other fantasy I've ever read and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Murder, Violence, Physical abuse, and Torture

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Sexual content

ginny_lind's review

adventurous dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Physical abuse, Violence, and Death

tonysipsandreads's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? No

3.5

This was a re-read for me, and I still felt mostly the same about it. I enjoyed this book, and I cannot wait for the sequel. This was a definite page turning, unputdownable book! There's adventure, mystery, betrayal, and overcoming! I cannot wait for the sequel! Black Sun was very exciting, and I hope Fevered Sun holds up! If you haven't read Black Sun, do so today!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and Alcohol

scam_lark's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Violence, War, Abandonment, Misogyny, Body horror, Blood, and Kidnapping

Minor: Torture, Alcohol, and Murder

itendswithe's review

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.75

[-0.25 star for a cliffhanger first book. I feel strongly that first books in series should be able to stand on their own].

A dark fantasy set in a pre-Columbus America that hooked me within the first few pages.

Four character perspectives (and in the audiobook, by 4 narrators) converging together in a battle between the old crow god and the new sun god. This book has magic, adventure, and a dose of blood - it's one of the best books I've read so far this year.

Covers some heavy topics, so check out the content warnings.

I would recommend if you like: diverse fantasy stories, characters with some edges, queer rep, and old magic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol and Violence

Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Biphobia, and Death of parent

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

hamstringy's review

adventurous emotional relaxing 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

This book was absolutely beautiful as both a story and a fantasy. The culture and people are so rich and lovingly crafted, and the characters are vibrant and easy to love. There is a lot this story touches on (including but not limited to: generational trauma, belonging, religion, and crows), and it does so well. An excellent read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Violence, Alcohol, Body horror, and Self harm

Minor: Sexual violence