Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

A Psalm of Storms and Silence - Die Magie von Solstasia by Roseanne A. Brown

16 reviews

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.25

Did love this as much as the first but still thoroughly enjoyed it. Loved all the side characters and liked how it ended.
Def read trigger/content warnings especially if you struggle with mental health.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Child death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Self harm

bloodmaarked's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.5

i was surprised to see the direction this took, and even more so that i felt it was better than book 1! roseanne a. brown is one to watch

✧ full review on my tumblr ✧

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Sexual content and Vomit

the racism is in a fantasy context i.e. not directed to any real-world racial/cultural group, but very reminiscent of real-world racism

megdconway's review against another edition

medium-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Slavery, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Death, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racial slurs, Death of parent, Grief, and Child abuse

cheynwilson's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Classism, Racism, Trafficking, and Racial slurs

nettle_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

I could not get enough of this forbidden love that was somehow encouraged and hated by the gods. It had so much awareness for so many topics including suicide, grooming, racism, transphobia, trauma, abuse, and I guess I was very seen by having these topics discussed. It has so many layers of magic I will not even try to explain but it was magical hearing about the magic. 
It has a more deep dive into the same topics so many fantasy YA books have so don’t run away because of the content warnings.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Gore, Kidnapping, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicide, Trafficking, Violence, Abandonment, Classism, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide attempt, Torture, Transphobia, War, Sexual violence, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

bibliorama's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.25

(I didn't read through this after writing it. It's all rapid fire thoughts, so excuse any spelling or grammar issues.)

Enjoyment - 4.5
Well here we are. This may seem like a surprise considering my review of the first book where I go into how it put me into a reading slump. But I have to say, this is a full star more than the first and that's not usually how this goes. The characters, world, and story felt so much more settled into themselves. It feels like this was the story that was always meant to be told and the first book was just one big setup to get us here.
For how much ground was covered in this book, I have to say the writing is so skillfully done. I just want to give Roseanne A. Brown a round of applause because the emotional journey these characters went on was heavy, but it was well done. It's only a 4.5 and not a 5 because I started to speed through the audiobook at the end during the wrap-up, partially because all the major moments and beats were done but also because my library loan was almost up and that's on me CX.

OH ALSO how could I forget to mention the plagues! I love a good wrathful god raining down some plagues. Can't beat the foreboding that adds to a story.
 
Start - 4.5
We started strong with Hyena giving us a little more backstory about Farid which I found interesting and it added to the emotional depth of who he was as a character. I also appreciated that Karina and Malik's stories intersected right off the bat. You could see their plots interweaving more from the start than you could in the first book. Since I listened to the audiobook, I have to add that all three of the narrators are fantastic and brought each of their characters to life with nuance.

Characters - 5
I loved that the focus settled itself on our main characters and it didn't waiver much from them. The mains/most important/most interesting characters to me are this group: Malik, Karina, Farid, Hanane, Nadia, and Leia. This core is where all the emotional beats hinge, and when they cross and hurt each other it's a knife that cuts deep. There were some really nice interior moments that we got with Karina and Malik as individuals. They felt very real, and there never was a moment where they acted out of character.  The only thing I wish we got more of at the back half of the book is Malik with his sisters cause there is some real shit that goes down with them that I would like to see resolved. One more thing before going into individual characters, I loved how these characters all did some bad things and the book doesn't let them off the hook for that, it makes them have to reconcile their actions in their mind and work towards fixing things. 
Listen Spoilers, Beware:
Farid:

Farid and Hanane's relationship is definitely one of the darker YA relationships I have read, and that's not because other books don't try to do this kind of relationship, but it's because it doesn't shy away from showing how scary it is for Hanane. The book also doesn't waiver in who Farid is as a character nor doesn't it overshoot who he is to where he becomes a caricature. There were many moments where he was in a scene and I could see him manipulating those around him, but it was so subtle.

Chapter 31 with Malik, that was real and I felt it, but I also have to say it was beautifully written. To me, that chapter was the most emotional.
Karina:

I loved Karina's growth in this book and how we got to see her interact with her family towards the end.

Hanane:

Man poor Hanane. She never really got a chance at life because of Farid, and even though it feels like she got some justice towards the end, she still is dead and that can't change. It's tragic to think about how young she was and she felt young in the scenes that we saw her in.

 
Atmosphere - 4
I loved getting to see more of the world and the little details it holds. I could have done with some more, but I think the characters felt so real and had such great details to them that they made the world feel real.

Plot - 4
Okay, so the actual plot is another fetch quest -ish. That's not my favorite. But lets be real, the story was always way more about the characters and their emotional journeys which I enjoyed very much. 

Ending - 4
Hits all the satisfying beats and I have to say what a great job Brown did wrapping this all up because not a thread was dropped. The wrap up part of the story might be a bit long for my preference, but I also know there are people who like that so to each their own. 

Style - 4
The Hyena narrator interludes were gripping and Hyena's voice was so strong. The background info she gives us and the meta addresses were some of my favorite parts.

Overall - 4.25
There's so much in this story that I enjoyed but just didn't fit into this review. I will say I'm happy that I picked up the second book and give the ending a shot because it was well worth it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Self harm, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse

Minor: Slavery, Blood, Colonisation, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, and Xenophobia

This book doesn't shy away from its themes and the way it discusses them is nuanced and never feels like the story is using them for shock value. I would think an older teen would be able to handle these topics and possibly find solace in this story if they've experienced some of these in their own life.

notpercyjacksonyet's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring 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

5.0

Absolutely gorgeous. I loved the first book and this was better. It feels right, it feels complete, and yet I want so much more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Racism, Violence, Slavery, Self harm, and Racial slurs

Minor: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit

strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

This book was fabulous! An upper YA fantasy book and the second in A Song of Wraiths and Ruin duology. This duology is full of African mythology and a setting similar. The prose is wonderfully written and concludes the story of Karina and Malik in a way that, while somewhat disappointing, makes sense for the way their characters have developed. 

Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, untimely ascension, Found Family, assassinations. 

I loved the magic system and how Roseanne A. Brown made it all fit within a set mythology of the world. Nothing about the magic system seemed out of place or like it didn’t make sense.

There is wonderful disability representation with anxiety, depression, and what seems to me to be autism. There is also a lot of LGBTQ+ representation and I think every character is a person of color (don’t quote me on that I don’t see pictures when I read I have no idea what these characters look like). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, War, Child abuse, Classism, Grief, Racism, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Kidnapping

Grooming

kaylamoran's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful 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 am obsessed with this duology.  I absolutely loved book 1 and was so worried that this one wouldn't live up to it, but I liked it even more!  Both easy 5 star reads for me.
Malik has my heart and I'd die for him.
I'll definitely be checking out anything else Roseanne A. Brown writes.  Everything about this felt so unique, and even the tropes didn't feel tropey.  It was genuinely unpredictable, which for someone who reads as much YA fantasy as i do, can be very difficult to achieve.
Did I mention I love Malik?  I love Malik.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Gaslighting, Self harm, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Blood, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and War

Minor: Kidnapping, Alcohol, Bullying, Confinement, and Fire/Fire injury

internationalreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, War, Blood, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Animal death, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Racial slurs