Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare

23 reviews

ashley_reya's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny reflective sad medium-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

Wow, I ended up really enjoying this book! While Lin and Kel are the main narrators, I was enamored with all of the characters in this story. And honestly, through them and Clare’s writing, I fell in love with Castellane. The ending was such a well-earned moments and so cinematic in how it played out. Really excited to see what the next installment holds!

My only qualm is with the audiobook specifically. There were two narrators, one for Kel and one for Lin, and the character voicing was split by section rather than characters. For example, I wish that Kel was still voiced by the narrator for Kel, or that Ji-an & Merren had one voice. Just made following along slightly confusing. 🤷‍♀️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Misogyny, Self harm, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Rape, Suicide, and Vomit

ashlyncherie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious 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

I really liked this book! I enjoyed the characters and complex world building.

I’m excited to see if Conor doesn’t actually suck in future books and who Lin ends up with!

Lin is my favorite!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Rape, and Sexual violence

anni_swanilda's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Drug use, Physical abuse, Torture, and Vomit

Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Drug abuse, Sexual content, and Death of parent

stormeno's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

manaledi's review against another edition

adventurous emotional slow-paced

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

4.25

This is one of my favorite fantasy reads of the year, which is saying something as I'm over 100 books and most of them are fantasy at this halfway point. The pacing was slow at the beginning with the dual POV, but everything really started to come together and it was entertaining throughout. I appreciated the range of characters that all had some depth and some different motivations - there's no obvious "bad" guy and no obvious "good" guy in the trap that so much fantasy falls into. I found myself still thinking about the characters and the plot questions days later and am already impatient for book two. There are some fairly clear similarities to real life places/cultures/religions and in some places I had enough background to follow and in others I could only tell that names were similar. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

a_mayt's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

A very interesting storyline. However, some details are over explained when not needed & some wording used to frequently. Overall an exciting story making the reader hungry for more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Rape, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

tdawgg07's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

wordsmithreads's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Misogyny, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Blood, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Rape

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I received a copy of this book as part of my FairyLoot subscription.
"Sword Catcher" is Cassandra Clare's debut into adult fantasy. Kel was an orphan and a child with a bleak future ahead of him, when he was taken to become a Sword Catcher, a body double for the prince, Conor. Kel and Conor grew up next to each other, and despite the difference in power, Kel thinks of Conor as a brother and would do anything for him. Lin is a member of the Ashkar, a small community that still have magical abilities. Lin has aspired to become a physician, so that she can hopefully find a suitable cure for her best friend's mysterious illness. After an unfortunate attack, Lin and Kel are brought together, and the pair each have their own run in with the Ragpicker King. Now Lin and Kel have to decide what knowledge is worth dying for, and who they can actually trust.
I was blown away with how much I was invested in this story, and I think it is my new favorite from Cassandra Clare. As much as I enjoyed the Shadowhunter world, I really appreciated seeing Cassandra expand her talents into a new world. This book is beautifully written, and it is very evident that the author is an experienced fantasy writer.
I really enjoyed the switching between Kel's and Lin's perspectives. Both characters were equally interesting to me, and I really appreciated getting both of their stories. I appreciated even more when their stories began to converge, and we got to see them come together.
Kel's story is devastating: an orphan who was taken in by royalty to act as the prince so that if there was an assassination attempt on the prince, the real prince would not die. Despite his humble beginnings, I loved seeing his loyalty towards Conor. He could have very easily grown resentful of Conor, but he really believed him to be a brother, and that relationship is so important to Kel. I also think he is a great influence on Conor, and I believe Conor really does care for Kel. Even when they were children, Conor asked if Kel wanted to be the Sword Catcher, because Conor wanted someone who wanted to be there.
Lin's story was incredible. She fought through so much adversity to become a physician, something women could only dream of. Not only did she get to practice medicine, but she was also really amazing at it. Lin's determination to become knowledgeable in the field of medicine was driven by such noble reasons, and it made her all the more relatable and likeable.
This book is rife with action. Just when you think the characters have a moment to breath, there is conflict, and someone's life is on the line. This really made the story progress quickly and helped to keep my attention throughout the entire novel.
The magic is really interesting in this world. I am very curious to learn more about it as the series progresses, because I do not think we got a full picture yet with just this first installment.
I am heavily invested in this story, and I cannot wait to pick up the next book! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual content and War

calathean's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This book made me realise how much I enjoy reading about characters who are deeply loyal to a person, even at their own expense. Both Kel and Lin are very loyal main characters - Lin in wanting to save her best friend's life and Kel in living to protect Conor at all cost even dying for him if necessary. Likeable characters, strong friendships, strong worldbuilding within Castellane. The toxicity of the friendship between Conor and Kel due to the power imbalance and Kel literally being Conor's shield despite the friendship itself being genuine and Conor not wanting Kel to die or treating him like a servant at all is delicious. The worldbuilidng was a bit difficult to follow when it comes to the world outside Castellane, I'm still not sure which country is which and what their deal is. And it was also difficult to remember all the nobles and not get Conor's friends mixed up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Alcohol

Moderate: Chronic illness, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Classism

Minor: Drug use, Physical abuse, Rape, Vomit, and Death of parent