Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea, by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

52 reviews

katiethepenguin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Blood, Kidnapping, Rape, Torture, Death, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Slavery, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Violence

aexileigh's review

adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Classism, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Colonisation, Death of parent, Drug use, Injury/injury detail, Slavery, Violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Torture, and Trafficking

a2zillustration's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture, Slavery, and Murder

pineapple_queen's review

adventurous 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Classism, Confinement, Misogyny, Murder, Homophobia, Colonisation, Addiction, Kidnapping, Outing, Child abuse, Alcohol, Torture, Blood, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexism

Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Physical abuse, Violence, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Trafficking, Slavery, Pedophilia, Murder, Mental illness, Grief, and Death

Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

its2early4this's review

adventurous dark inspiring reflective fast-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

This book was a wonderful, fast read. The world was rich and lovely. The characters felt incredibly real, and I absolutely adored the diverse representation. I would love to read more set in this universe. Unfortunately, the ending was a major disappointment for me. I couldn't see how the author was going to make a happy ending work, but was okay with that because I love a well-written tragic or bittersweet ending. However, the author forced a happy ending that, in my opinion, made no sense and came out of nowhere. Not to mention (spoiler ahead)

Spoiler

I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Flora and Evelyn are swimming around living "happily ever after" while the original Evelyn's corpse rots at the bottom of the sea. Will they encounter it at some point? Just. What the heck? Kind of spoils what was supposed to be a happy ending, anyway.

I was left with the sense that the author was either told that they shouldn't, or didn't want to write a sad ending, but - like me - couldn't find a logical conclusion, so they just stamped something at the end and called it good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, War, Addiction, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Murder, Rape, Trafficking, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Deadnaming, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Dysphoria, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry

This book is VERY HEAVY with a lot of its content. But if the potential misgendering/deadnaming is worrying you: it did make me a bit uncomfy at first, but as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that

Spoiler

Flora/Florian's relationship with their gender isn't clear-cut. Both names apply as do all pronouns, and a major part of the story is them coming to terms with that and growing comfortable being who they are unapologetically.

ailsaod's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful slow-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

4.0

 This was a story that had some very original and interesting takes on the pirate sub-genre as well as gender and mermaids but it was also a little odd. Given the premise of pirates and romance with added cross-dressing I was expecting something a little fun, possibly light-hearted or goofy. Let my tell you now that actually this story is about guilt - everyone is drowning in regrets or has abandoned their morals entirely. Piracy is shown as a harsh, unforgiving lifestyle that brings out the very worst in people and while this is more realistic it was also rather gloomy.

I found the magic system in this book very odd and difficult to get my head around and it ultimately didn't have much of an effect on the story for the amount of emphasis it got in the middle sections? The romance had a similar problem - there is a lot of long distance pining with very little foundation before it and then when they are back together its treated like its the romance of the century. It all feels a little fast to me.

Despite my complaints I think this book was good, it just didn't really align with my tastes. I think there were some really good ideas and some people would absolutely love it

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Murder, Injury/injury detail, Colonisation, Rape, Racism, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Mental illness

Minor: Homophobia, Child abuse, Child death, and Religious bigotry

The rape is only implied but features pretty heavily.

charliethebooklover's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful slow-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

4.25

So. Many. Emotions.
Absolutely no words, this book was amazing! 
Check the content warnings if you choose to read this book. Other than that, read away

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Violence, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Rape, Gun violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Slavery, Murder, and Death

malva's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Injury/injury detail, Physical abuse, Torture, Death of parent, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Rape, Slavery, Sexual assault, Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, and Sexual harassment

shadeyc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Surprisingly brutal, but thoroughly engrossing. The stories (myths) intermingled were fascinating. I did not think I would grow to like any of the characters, however, I realised towards the end I was reading much faster and thoroughly invested in several people. 
Side note - that cover is gorgeous. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Death, Torture, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Violence

Moderate: Classism, Blood, Grief, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse

Minor: Misogyny, Vomit, Trafficking, Lesbophobia, and Confinement

disnelyse's review

adventurous hopeful 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

4.5

Such a fantastic and adventurous book with so many twists and turns that I wasn't expecting!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Murder, Trafficking, and Alcoholism

Minor: Sexual assault