Reviews tagging 'Death'

Sistersong by Lucy Holland

44 reviews

megelizabeth's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

"Outside, the wind howls on, uncaring of humans and the dramas they act out. It will blow across this land long after all of us are dust. After Dunbriga is dust. And other lives call this place home."

I really enjoyed this book overall. Not being much of a fantasy reader, it took me a minute to get into and I did find some parts either to drag a bit or go slightly over my head, but the powerful and devastating explorations of siblinghood and historical truth and societal advancement and change really pulled me through and I ended up both invested and ultimately devastated. The writing is absolutely gorgeous and the balance between meticulous historical detail on the one hand and invention and characterisation on the other is perfectly struck. There's a lot going on and at times I did feel as if it was really trying to be two stories when it could have worked as one, but ultimately it did all come together and I felt satisfied (if also heartbroken) by how things turned out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement and Pregnancy

Minor: Child abuse and Rape

aylabell's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

I absolutely loved this book. It’s a beautiful tale of family, identity, loss, and hope. Each character had their share of flaws alongside lovable attributes, making them feel real. I cried during the last few chapters of this book, both in sadness and relief. A must read for historical fictions fans. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Transphobia, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, and Pregnancy

cersmessenger's review

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Bullying, Deadnaming, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Ableism, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria

lorraine19's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

Despite the plot moving slow at first, the multiple layers of story keeps it interesting. There's the Christian church dominating a pagan community, war with Saxons looming, and the personal stories with each of the siblings. I found the parallels between these elements fascinating. 

If you know The Twa Sisters ballad, most of the plot likely won't be a surprise for you. If you are like me and went in blind, you'll probably find certain points predictable and others completely shocking. Character development is there - some for better and some for worst. The most moving - and arguably he main character of this multiple POV story - to me is the middle child Keyne. Their development and story of self discovery and empowerment is absolutely beautiful. 

As someone that is a fan of multiple POV books, I felt like it was almost unnecessary here. However, I do feel like it did result in some points being more effective. I'm left with conflicted feelings about the ending (specifically regarding Riva) but I think that's up to the individual reader. 

Overall, interesting read - especially if you are into paganism, European history, or magic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

Minor: Slavery

thewillowwood's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

this was so sad man…like damn.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Murder

lanid's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Gore, Transphobia, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Sexism, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

bluejay21's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and War

abbeyroad1410's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring sad slow-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

3.75

I feel very conflicted about this book because the things it did well, it did exceptionally, but overall, I feel like a lot of areas were underdeveloped. 
I want to start with the things I felt the book did exceptionally. To begin, it carries a plot about a transgender boy, Kenye, throughout the novel which is moving and has a happy ending. I find this rare, especially in a historical fiction novel, and I enjoyed the representation in a way that made sense. For people that think this is unrealistic for the time period, I would look into the thirteenth century text Le Roman de Silence by Heldris. 
The book also does a great job showing Riva's insecurity with her disability (she is a burn victim) and the pressure she feels from having to be the older, more responsible sister. Dealing with her insecurities gives Riva's character depth, though I will admit she may be the most frustrating character in the book.
This novel is also great at drawing emotion. At the emotional peak,

when Sinne dies and is turned into a harp,

I simultaneously felt like crying and vomiting. Without Lucy Holland's ability to write such sympathetic characters, I doubt this emotion would hit as hard.
Now, I want to touch on the things that just generally confused me about the novel, Sistersong. I think my biggest issue with this novel is the fact that there seems to be no rhyme or reason for the magic in it. The novel began with the sisters having specific powers, but by the end, they blurred together and you could also half raise the dead. This is very frustrating.
Additionally, the driver of the main event

,Sinne's death during her fight with Riva,

is jealousy. However, at the time this occurs, there is no reason for Sinne to be jealous as she doesn't trust Tristian and had a major revelation that Tristian had always favored her sister. Honestly, everyone's feelings about Tristian and infatuation with him was very confusing by the end of the novel.

For the majority of the novel, Riva chose to be ignorant that Tristian was the villain despite everyone else suspecting him. This girl was shocked when he was revealed to be a Saxon and it made zero sense how shocked she was.

Overall, I wouldn't say that I am disappointed with the book. I am mostly just left confused. It was a beautiful adaptation of the Ballad of the Twa Sisters, but at times, it was doing too much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Transphobia, Fire/Fire injury, and War

picaresquedreamer's review against another edition

Boring, most characters were kinda irritating

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

claire_riach's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming and Transphobia

Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury