Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

142 reviews

f10r3nc3777's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

I loved this book! I was so pleased to find it not only had 2 queer main characters, but also characters of different gender identities. It also includes main characters of different ethnicities. So often, books will throw in a character with "golden skin". It was so nice to see some actual representation in a book. Plus, I found the story so enticing that I could hardly put this book down! Quite the page turner, and I can't wait to dive into the second book! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Minor: Sexual assault

anjasshelf's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Rape

neglected_space's review against another edition

adventurous medium-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

3.25

A fun, entertaining YA read. Keep in mind it’s a YA novel, so things are kept a bit simple and not complex.

I will say that the witch plot seemed a bit…shoehorned in. I would have liked to see more development with that part of the story line. 

The queerness was such a lovely surprise (I didn’t realise just HOW many queer characters there were going to be) and it was super nice seeing various gender representations. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Alcohol

Minor: Slavery and Vomit

embee007's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I picked this up after multiple people recommended it as a cozy fantasy...I would really like to have a word with them. Queer Fantasy =/= Cozy Fantasy. Happy Endings do not mean Cozy Fantasy. This book contains slavery, gore, depictions of torture...It is not a light & fluffy read. It is most similar to a YA version of Season 2 of Our Flag Means Death - dark, but not that dark.

I feel like there was a bit of a lull towards the end? Or the action was weird? Or maybe that was just me. (first full book I read with Covid) But the ending mostly made up for it. I'm definitely interested in reading book 2, at some point this year.

"There’s freedom in stories, you know. We read them and we become something else. We imagine different lives, and while we turn the pages, we get to live them. To escape the lot we’ve been given.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

botanicalshark's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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

5.0

One of my favorite books of all time! There were many things I adored about this; the romance, the main characters, the adventure across the sea, and even some of the side characters. I love the representation and diversity throughout the cast, and the fact that there different genders/sexualities are not the main focus of their struggles. They exist in the space just as any other character does. I loved the writing and storing telling, it was fast paced but not too fast that it would leave your head spinning. I personally liked the many pov's throughout the book. It helped provided more than just one perspective on the situations, and helped the reader get to know those characters and their motivations more. It adds depth. Over all, loved it!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture, Violence, and Classism

Minor: Sexual assault

andr901i's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Rape, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Trafficking

enbae's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This was the best book I read in a long time! It got me hooked like crazy and I told all my friends to read it. If you enjoyed the "darker shades of magic" trilogy or even the Pirates of the Carribbean movies, this book is a must-read!!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Colonisation

Minor: Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, War, and Injury/Injury detail

pilotlala's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

scrubsandbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

3.5

The romance in this one was captivating, and I enjoyed reading it but I think that was mostly what I enjoyed about this book. I mean, you're giving me queer pirates!!

The world-building left me a bit confused especially when it came to the magic system. I feel like a lot of it was just glossed over and there could have been an extra chapter or two invested in explaining or showing more of it. But I believe there's either a sequel or companion novel to this story in the works and I would definitely recommend this book and will give the next one a read for sure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Confinement and Sexual assault

decembera's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense 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

2.0

It is... certainly a choice to make your Black lead an enslaver.

Mind the content warnings. This was significantly more graphic than I expected from a YA book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Excrement, Lesbophobia, Outing, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria