Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Sun of Blood and Ruin by Mariely Lares

11 reviews

jvbook_reader's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark informative 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

3.25

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starrysteph's review against another edition

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

2.0

A Zorro-inspired vigilante who can shapeshift into a panther, torn between her role as the Spanish heir to the throne and her half-Indigenous identity? What a delicious concept. 

The ideas in Sun of Blood and Ruin were phenomenal, but the execution unfortunately made it a very challenging story to read & enjoy.

Pantera is a warrior sorceress, but underneath that bold identity is Leonora, a charming young lady who is promised to the heir of the Spanish throne. While Pantera fights to protect the Indigenous people from Spanish tyranny on the streets, Leonora wages a war of politics inside the palace.

But Leonora knows she’s been prophesied to have a short life, and to die in battle. And when the earthquakes begin - signaling the changing of a Sun and tons of destruction - she is ready to fight until the bitter end.

There is so much happening here, from palace politics to fights in the street to ancient gods to promises of paradise to anti-colonialism escapades to a budding romance … and truly so much more. There are so many intriguing elements, especially when you bring in real (slightly and fantastically altered) history and folklore. But it turned into total chaos. 

I love a large cast of characters, and mythology, and lots of different threads. Here it felt like the writing was bubbling with excitement and attempting to weave in every single brilliant idea. I just think it needed a lot more structure, more information around the main elements (most readers won’t know the intricacies of this mythology), and someone to cut some of the excess elements.

I was not in flow with the writing and not totally aligned with Leonora as a main character. She’s very immature and adolescent, and while she definitely has a bit of a coming-of-age journey, it just felt like she was too young & too flat to shoulder all the story elements. Her realization towards the end was just so simplistic, and much of the dialogue is cheesy. 

I think I was far more into the first half, which had a lot less action, but more of a clear plot. When we get into the action scenes, people are just popping around and it felt impossible to envision what was actually going on half of the time. And then nonsensical plot twist after nonsensical plot twist after revelation after revelation after character death (!) where we’re just moving on. And the stuff between was all so murky. I wasn’t sure why this story was written and who the author’s intended audience was. 

I am so bummed. I saw the vision!!

CW: death (parent), murder, religious bigotry, colonization, racism, genocide, xenophonia, grief, war, animal death, classism, guns

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(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
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dreadspawn's review against another edition

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bookish_hollyx's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

3.0

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seubecca's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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blakeandbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious 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

2.75

Thank you to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had such high hopes for this book. A fantasy novel set in 16th century New Spain with Mexican history and Mesoamerican mythology?! Along with the stunning cover?? I had to know! Sadly, it didn’t live up to my hopes. The pace felt very confusing, and the plot holes made it even more difficult to follow. I also felt that the romance was… nonexistent? They had no compatibility or connection whatsoever that it felt forced. I will say I really enjoyed Leonora as the FMC, and I felt like she was definitely a badass that fit her role well.
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khakipantsofsex's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes

4.0

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belleanndthebook's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging fast-paced
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

I want to very emphatically recommend this book to avid fantasy readers! We have all been sleeping on the goldmine of a historical setting that was historical Mexico with all of the politics between indigenous nations, the Spanish settlers, and Spain itself. Although the writing had its flaws at times, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend the overall story. I found the characters endearing in a “they’re flawed, and annoy me at times, but I also kinda vibe with their quirks” way. (And no, I don’t mean quirky as in code that nuerotypicals use for nuerodivergent, I just think that the characters’ backstories were often fairly complicated, and that lent itself towards each character having something about them that was extremely unique.)

I would really look forward to any other books in this series, and I think that I would have the potential to enjoy future installments more now that the multifaceted aspects of the world-building have been fully explained in the first book. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for an arc!
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vexatiousbird's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This was exactly what I wanted it to be. Vivid and heartfelt. A protagonist who struggles and doubts but perseveres for a higher cause. A little twist of romance that doesn’t get in the way of the plot. A more hopeful reimagining of a terrible time in history. Well written and hard to put down. I loved how the mythology was brought to life and explored in a new way.

My only complaint is Leonora’s brother- his character is a little too flat to have as big an impact on the resolution as he does in the end, and his part of the plot wrapped up too neatly and suddenly. I think there could have been another chapter or two to get there more realistically. 
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lisashelves's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny tense slow-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

5.0

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