Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

As I Descended by Robin Talley

3 reviews

chapters_and_pages's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

3.0

I’ve read two Robin Talley novels, both YA contemporary romances, and I didn’t really know much about this book, besides that it was a Macbeth retelling, and to be honest, I’ve never read or watched Macbeth so I’m not familiar with the story but this book was honestly not what I expected. 

Maria and Lily are the school’s ultimate power couple - even if no one else knows it. They have their future planned perfectly, but there’s one thing that stands in their way: Delilah Dufrey. First in line for the prestigious Cawdor Kingsley Prize, the scholarship Maria needs to go to the same college as Lily, Delilah has no idea the lengths the girls will go to ensure their victory. 

This book was definitely different than anything I’ve read before, and it was much darker and creepier than Talley’s other books, and because I’m not familiar with Macbeth, the story was something I was not expecting. 

I love the representation Robin Talley brings to her books. As I Descended featured queer characters, same sex relationships, a disabled main character who lives with chronic pain, and a Hispanic main character. This book also delves into Mexican mythology a little, which is an interesting addition. 

Overall, this book was a big surprise for me but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It’s a perfect spooky read for this Halloween! 
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theirgracegrace's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense 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

As I Descended is a diverse, queer but still tragic retelling of Shakespeare that does not hold back from the horror. María and Lily are the school's rising stars, if only Delilah Dufrey wasn't in the way. When they have a séance with their best friend Brandon, they unleash a supernatural force that inhabits their Southern boarding school. And the ghosts say that blood will have blood...

I adore how Robin Talley recontextualizes the setting from the nobility of early medieval Scotland to a group of queer teens at a Southern boarding school, and how the themes do not change. It legitimately is impossible to tell if the characters are hallucinating the supernatural occurrences in the school, or if they are really happening. The relationships between the characters mirror those between their Shakespearean counterparts, but they also are their own people and show the effect of fate and the supernatural on their psyche.
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beforeviolets's review against another edition

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

4.5

I think if I tried to state all my thoughts about this book, it would end up as a 20-page essay. All you need to know is: this book was pitched to me as <b>sapphic dark academia Macbeth</b>, and it delivered! It's not a PERFECT book, but Macbeth is one of my favorite plays and a lesbian retelling will certainly make me easy to please :)

TW: there's a LOT. most of them are already in Macbeth so expect a lot of similar plot points.
outing, homophobia, homophobic slurs, ableism, fatphobia, racism, bullying, murder, blood, violence, gore, death, drug use (consensual and non-consensual), alcohol, vomit, car accident (past, brief mention), fire/fire injury (past), panic attacks, schizophrenia/psychosis, self harm, suicide, toxic relationship, also be aware that the setting takes place on an old Southern plantation so there's a history of slaveowners that is discussed quite a bit.
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