Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

266 reviews

youbelongwithmira's review against another edition

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4.0


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thebookdragon_taylorsversion's review against another edition

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

2.75


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pandemonicbaby's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

3.0

I was really hoping I'd like this book more. I mean, a forbidden romance between two girls who fight against an oppressive system in search for a future where they can be together??? Sign me up!! I thought I was going to LOVE this. Instead, I just felt kind of lukewarm about it.
And don't get me wrong, I think it's SO important how we are in a time period where we're able to have bestselling YA stories with central queer storylines, stories that deal with the theme of sexual assault but focus on the victims' journeys of healing, presenting these themes in a respectful way to a younger audience. I've been having an unfortunate streak with this type of thing lately, and 2 of the last books I've read have had explicit rape scenes which made me greatly uncomfortable. I was really shocked when this book (a YA novel) had the best, most respectful depiction of it out of the 3, and handled the topic with care, moreso than any of those other books I've read. It didn't have to describe it in detail to be impactful, and fully focused on the victim's feelings afterward.
That being said, otherwise, I think this book maybe wasn't exactly for me. People who know me know I LOVE sapphic romance, and will eat up basically anything, but this romance just felt sort of rushed and not really impactful. I wasn't really excited to see them finally kiss or confess their feelings to eachother like I usually am with any sapphic couple I read about. It just felt a bit, I don't know, spiceless, saltless, like the taste of food that you usually really love but in this specific casw it just feels bland. And I don't really think it has to do with the characters themselves, but more with the way the romance was written. Also, I don't know exactly why, but I felt like I didn't really enjoy the writing style. I'm not sure what I felt was lacking in it, but I just wasn't really digging it all that much.
Also, originally, I thought all castes were human, and had NO idea there were gonna be furries in this LMFAO. That *did* make the scenes with the king especially unbearable, though, and I feel like that was probably the intent.
Anyways, it wasn't really for me, but I really do hope that some readers are able to find something they love in this book. I just really really hoped I would love it too.

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graece_03's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

This is the first of a trilogy and was intense and dark enough that I will not be reading the second two

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ellie_debney's review against another edition

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challenging dark
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

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dmrains's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring tense fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0


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gracemarshall6's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0


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lshort1230's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

I have mixed feelings about this book. Mostly I think it wasn't really for me - it was a bit heavier than I would like, though I appreciate the generally happy ending. The main flaw with the book is that the world building doesn't quite work, and I kept being distracted by that. At least part of the issue is that these girls are only in the harem for a year but they aren't allowed to leave the palace after and the crown compensates their family to the degree they complete to sacrifice their daughters *and* this has been going on for centuries. That aside the characters are interesting and the action is good. Choices that characters make mostly make sense. I'm happy with where the book ended and I wish I hadn't read the epilog, as it adds a cliffhanger and I have no intention of reading the sequel.

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lottie1803's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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

5.0


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jvalentine1386's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.75


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