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mandkips's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Medical content
Moderate: Body horror, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Dysphoria
Minor: Vomit, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
skudiklier's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.5
I don't really know what to make of this book. I liked having a nonbinary character, and the queernorm world in general. The world building was really good and I was invested in the characters and the plot. But the ending felt a bit.....I'm not sure how to describe it. I didn't hate it or anything but I don't feel like a lot was particularly resolved. It felt sudden in some ways. I dunno. I liked the book for the most part and think it was well-written, but I also don't think I'd actively recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide and War
Minor: Vomit and Fire/Fire injury
theirgracegrace's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
A powerful and heart-wrenching debut from Naseem Jamnia. Firuz is trying to raise their family of refugees from a nearby country under military occupation in the free city of Qilwa. However, to make ends meet, they have to hide their blood magic abilities while working in the one free hospital in the city. As they do, they discover a mysterious plot is rising, and only blood magic could be to blame. An incredible story from a queer-normative world that really speaks to the southwest Asian immigrant experience. The twist is one I did not see coming in the slightest, and the ending gave me hope for the characters' broken world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Classism
Minor: Transphobia and Vomit
opossumble's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Bullying, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Vomit, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
jjjreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
displacedcactus's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This was an interesting book but I think it tried to do/be too many things in too few pages, so that no particular element of the story felt as strong as it could have been. I'd definitely read another book by this author as I think they have a lot of promise and some great ideas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, and Blood
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
Minor: Child death, Vomit, and Death of parent
Specific gross stuff:goldendreams's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death and Classism
Minor: Vomit, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
foreverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
Thank you to Tachyon Publishing and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my owb.
This was freaking fantastic!! Loved it so much. I hope Naseem continues to write fantasy and maybe something similar to this but a full length novel. I will wait 😌
The Bruising of Qilwa follows a nonbinary refugee as they leave their home in order to find a safe haven for their family. When they arrive in Qilwa, they find a job as a healer in a free clinic, working for Kofi. As they settle in to their new life, Firuz finds an orphan, Afsoneh, who is also a powerful blood mage and takes her under their wing. Firuz promises to teach her what they know, but only in maximum secrecy. In addition, Firuz and Kofi find new signs of a disease cycling through Qilwa. Rumors of blood magic abound and Firuz is terrified for their family and the consequences of the disease.
This novella was amazing!! I loved it with my whole heart. The way Persian culture influenced this book was beautiful. I loved that the whole cast is QPOC, we need more books and novellas like this one. Also, who doesn't love blood magic!? Sign me the heck up!
The other thing about this world that I think needs to be adapted in every other book stat is the way people introduced themselves. Pronouns were always included. Firuz introduced themselves as "they-Firuz" and I just love seeing pronouns normalized in fantasy. I need more books like this.
I loved the scientific aspects to this! It was so well done and while there is still some magic involved, it never felt like the science was completely unfounded. Which is something important to me as a scientist myself. I really loved seeing Firuz explore their magic and how they investigated the new disease.
This felt like a complete story. I wouldn't mind if it had been longer, mainly because I want more time in this world. The ending made sense and though the pace definitely picked up near the end, it didn't feel rushed. All in all, this is a must read!
The author has a rep breakdown and their own CWs here: https://www.naseemwrites.com/the-brui...
Rep: Refugee BIPOC nonbinary aroace MC with c-PTSD, BIPOC trans male side character, queer BIPOC female side character with c-PTSD, QBIPOC supporting cast, nonbinary side characters that use neopronouns, WLW side pairing, muslim inspired religious characters, chronically-ill side characters.
CWs: medical content, medical trauma, racism, xenophobia, mental illness (c-PTSD), blood, vomit, violence, death, child death, plague. Moderate: dysphoria, colonisation, genocide mentioned, disordered eating, self harm (pricking fingers/hand for blood), past mentions of child abuse, body horror, descriptions of corpses, trauma.
This was freaking fantastic!! Loved it so much. I hope Naseem continues to write fantasy and maybe something similar to this but a full length novel. I will wait 😌
The Bruising of Qilwa follows a nonbinary refugee as they leave their home in order to find a safe haven for their family. When they arrive in Qilwa, they find a job as a healer in a free clinic, working for Kofi. As they settle in to their new life, Firuz finds an orphan, Afsoneh, who is also a powerful blood mage and takes her under their wing. Firuz promises to teach her what they know, but only in maximum secrecy. In addition, Firuz and Kofi find new signs of a disease cycling through Qilwa. Rumors of blood magic abound and Firuz is terrified for their family and the consequences of the disease.
This novella was amazing!! I loved it with my whole heart. The way Persian culture influenced this book was beautiful. I loved that the whole cast is QPOC, we need more books and novellas like this one. Also, who doesn't love blood magic!? Sign me the heck up!
The other thing about this world that I think needs to be adapted in every other book stat is the way people introduced themselves. Pronouns were always included. Firuz introduced themselves as "they-Firuz" and I just love seeing pronouns normalized in fantasy. I need more books like this.
I loved the scientific aspects to this! It was so well done and while there is still some magic involved, it never felt like the science was completely unfounded. Which is something important to me as a scientist myself. I really loved seeing Firuz explore their magic and how they investigated the new disease.
This felt like a complete story. I wouldn't mind if it had been longer, mainly because I want more time in this world. The ending made sense and though the pace definitely picked up near the end, it didn't feel rushed. All in all, this is a must read!
The author has a rep breakdown and their own CWs here: https://www.naseemwrites.com/the-brui...
Rep: Refugee BIPOC nonbinary aroace MC with c-PTSD, BIPOC trans male side character, queer BIPOC female side character with c-PTSD, QBIPOC supporting cast, nonbinary side characters that use neopronouns, WLW side pairing, muslim inspired religious characters, chronically-ill side characters.
CWs: medical content, medical trauma, racism, xenophobia, mental illness (c-PTSD), blood, vomit, violence, death, child death, plague. Moderate: dysphoria, colonisation, genocide mentioned, disordered eating, self harm (pricking fingers/hand for blood), past mentions of child abuse, body horror, descriptions of corpses, trauma.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Genocide, Self harm, Colonisation, and Dysphoria
gothbaby's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-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? No
2.0
I finished this novella and had to wait to really process my thoughts and feelings, letting them form on their own as I replayed the story in my head and chased after the plot as it unraveled.
The Bruising of Qilwa left a lot to be desired. It opened so beautifully, with very descriptive and poetic language that i wish the author had carried throughout the book, especially for world-building. Considering its fantasy categorization, I wish there was more time spent on the world-building and description of the magic system(s). The author's passion for this work was very evident, and I wish they had showed me the Firuz's world rather than info-dumped between dialogue.
Similarly, I felt like the relationships between the Firuz, Kofi, their brother, and Afsoneh were superficial at times. I could tell the author had built very intricate and complex characters with similarly complex relationships, but on page the dialogues felt rushed and their interactions stunted. Afsoneh's development was told rather than shown, which made me feel like she wasn't as important of a character until the end.
Something that added to the superficiality of the characters' relationships was time. I was very confused about the passage of time and its importance to the plot. Within short sections we would be told that weeks had passed then months had passed without any true shift or indicators in the plot itself.
Overall I wish I could have delved into the author's mind and seen for myself what exactly they were envisioning while they wrote. From Qilwa itself to the way the blood magic worked, I wanted to love this world as much as they did, but with the limited amount of development I felt like I missed out on a shared-memory, a "you had to be there" story. I would love to see where Naseem Jamnia goes next and wish them nothing but success!
Thank you Tachyon Publications, Naseem Jamnia, and NetGalley for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for an honest review.
The Bruising of Qilwa left a lot to be desired. It opened so beautifully, with very descriptive and poetic language that i wish the author had carried throughout the book, especially for world-building. Considering its fantasy categorization, I wish there was more time spent on the world-building and description of the magic system(s). The author's passion for this work was very evident, and I wish they had showed me the Firuz's world rather than info-dumped between dialogue.
Similarly, I felt like the relationships between the Firuz, Kofi, their brother, and Afsoneh were superficial at times. I could tell the author had built very intricate and complex characters with similarly complex relationships, but on page the dialogues felt rushed and their interactions stunted. Afsoneh's development was told rather than shown, which made me feel like she wasn't as important of a character until the end.
Something that added to the superficiality of the characters' relationships was time. I was very confused about the passage of time and its importance to the plot. Within short sections we would be told that weeks had passed then months had passed without any true shift or indicators in the plot itself.
Overall I wish I could have delved into the author's mind and seen for myself what exactly they were envisioning while they wrote. From Qilwa itself to the way the blood magic worked, I wanted to love this world as much as they did, but with the limited amount of development I felt like I missed out on a shared-memory, a "you had to be there" story. I would love to see where Naseem Jamnia goes next and wish them nothing but success!
Thank you Tachyon Publications, Naseem Jamnia, and NetGalley for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Vomit
Moderate: Dysphoria