Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - Fire Rush

Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks

18 reviews

sakisreads's review

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adventurous challenging hopeful slow-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

Anything that has testimonials from Bernadine Evaristo AND Caleb Azumah Nelson has to be read 👏🏼

So glad I picked this one up at the library 📚 It took me a while to get through

and Moose’s death had me GRIEVING 😫

but every time I picked it up I kept going and loving it 🥹

I am SO glad we escaped Monassa AND THEN fucked him up too 🫠 I was initially excited because he seemed charming, but as Yamaye got bamboozled by him I realised that was my anxious attachment style saying ‘But he’s a nice man’ 🙊 Never again. Fuck him!

Yamaye was such a fantastic narrator and I felt like I could visualise everything that was going on throughout the years. I felt many of the excitements and nerves she felt!

4 out of 5 stars, thank you so much ✨

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teekay_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.25

Rhythmic, poetic and reflective. A beautiful and visceral telling about love, loss and shame. I was deep in Yamyae’s shoes a big thank you to Jacqueline’s vulnerability and research.

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flashandoutbreak's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

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lindsaylhunter's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring slow-paced

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

2.5

I want to like this more. The first third was looking good but it started to dwindle pretty quickly after that, even given the subject matter being tackled.

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cuppa_t's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring medium-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

3.5

After someone close to Yamaye is murdered in police custody, she finds herself under scrutiny and in need of escape. She travels, constantly running from people and past while chasing sounds and dub rhythms.

Fire Rush is a beautifully written book filled with poetic gems of prose. If you’re looking for a character-led story, you’ll find Fire Rush absolutely phenomenal. Crooks' descriptions of personalities, relationships and emotions are second to none. Yamaye’s relationship with music is hypnotic. Every time the story shifts location, you are there with her.

However, as it is entirely character-led, I felt like at least four main plots were only taken halfway; the book ended because the character arc had been completed, rather than the plot coming full circle. I understand that this may be because it is semi-autobiographical, but a few loose ends were left too loose for me, particularly the plotline regarding her mother; I would love to read a version of this book where that was resolved.

Overall, it was a beautiful read but not as compelling as I had hoped.

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yourssincerelyemma's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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qqjj's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

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amyvl93's review

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challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.0

I feel like I say this every year but my favourite thing about avidly reading the Women's Prize shortlist is being pointed towards books that you wouldn't otherwise find, and falling a bit in love with them. Fire Rush is one of those books.

Set in the late 1970s, Fire Rush introduces us to Yamaye, the daughter of Jamaican migrants to the UK whose days revolve around hanging out at underground music venues with her two friends on the outskirts of London, until a romantic encounter and then violent tragedy upends her life.

Moving between outer and inner London, Bristol and Jamaica, Crooks gives us a hard honest look at Yamaye's life - one that is ordinary until it isn't, and teeters on the edge of criminality. Yamaye is a compelling protagonist, one who finds her own voice and sound as the novel progresses and as she learns more about her past - both within her family and in her place as a black woman. The writing genuinely has a rhythm to it as we move thorough the pages.

Whilst we spend the most time with Yamaye, Crooks gives her other characters real life - from the romantic dreamer Moose, to the quietly dangerous Monassa, they all vibrate on the pages. This read as a novel crying out to be televised, and I hope it is. This is an excellent debut by Brooks, shining a light on a period of black British history which isn't talked about enough; and I'm excited to read what she writes next.

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aislingmoconnell's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

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shiny_raccoon's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This book felt like one book when I started and then felt like it took a turn partway through and became something else. No surprise twist or big revelation, the characters life just changed. The people she started spending time with became not so nice.

I thought I was going to love it. It ended up being a much harder read than I first thought. As a result I didn’t love it.

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