Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Sistersong by Lucy Holland

24 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

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

gemstonejasper's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

Twa Sisters murder ballad retelling. Tragic with lots of character development. Themes of identity, magic, power, and being true to yourself. 

Trans masc rep. Gender fluid rep.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Transphobia, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

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

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

musicalpopcorn's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

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

2.5

In this retelling of a gruesome old song, a magical world on the brink of destruction needs saving, but who will be the one to protect it?

This was quite the story. I’m glad I looked up the Twa Sisters beforehand otherwise I think I would have had a massive shock about 3/4 of the way in. The book definitely takes a sharp turn. 

I wasn’t all that interested in it to begin with. I didn’t find the story grabbed me, but once it took a darker turn, I definitely felt more inclined to see how it ended. 

Interesting idea, so-so execution. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Confinement, Deadnaming, Misogyny, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

careinthelibrary's review

adventurous mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

I was sure I'd like this trans-affirming early middle ages feminist retelling of one of Child's murder ballads and I did 😌
Didn't expect so much to feel like an honouring of <i>Hild</i> by Nicola Griffith, one of my all-time favourite historical fiction epics. Although <i>Hild</i> takes place in this book's future, it feels like they are referencing the same texts, worldviews, problems, and imaginings of the land. Even the references to the patterns that connect us all to the land felt very Griffith and very <i>Hild</i>! Love it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexism, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, and War

simonlorden's review against another edition

challenging 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? It's complicated

4.5

me: I don't see how this is a retelling of the ballad
me, later: oh shit 

also yay for trans character who ends up being recognized as his true gender <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Transphobia, Death of parent, Murder, and War

laura's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Transphobia, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

aliciae08's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective 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

3.25

I read Sistersong as a book club read, and it took me a little bit to get into it as it’s very different from most of the books I have read this year. 

Sistersong is inspired by the Twa Sisters, a traditional murder ballad from as far back as the 17th century (according to Youtube).  The ballad itself is gorgeous, and having very little prior knowledge of it, I was excited to get into Sistersong and take on it’s interpretation. 

Sistersong follows three siblings and we get alternating chapters through each point of view: Riva, the oldest, Keyne (later called Constantine) and Sinne.  The story itself is set on the backdrop of war, growing Christian/Pagan resentments, and their own internal struggles.  There’s love and betrayal and an air of mystery, along with gender-queer and trans representation. Despite there being transphobia, this is not a trans trauma story, rather a becoming fully and confidently myself story. 

A massive portion of the first two thirds felt extremely slow, with a whole lot of nothing happening. I found myself getting frustrated because some of the inner turmoil presented felt repetitive (particularly around Riva and Keyne). I also think that because of the length of the set up, I was able to work out who was doing what.

I also thought that some of the relationships were unrealistic in their executions. We’re made to think through the book synopsis that these siblings are really close, and even though a past closeness is alluded to, that is not what we see.  They don’t know or recognize each other at all until the end. 

I also felt that there wasn’t really any closure around certain betrayals. It was kind of “oh these things happened and it’s fine”. We spent so long in the build up that this felt really unsatisfying to me. 

It was well-written and there were parts that I found to be gorgeous. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Transphobia, Violence, Murder, and War

Minor: Injury/Injury detail