Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosiee Thor

20 reviews

poisoned_icecream's review

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

3.5


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emily_mh's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? Yes

3.25

I really liked the writing style of this one. It was descriptive and poetic without being too over-the-top and ridiculous. For that reason alone Iā€™d be interested in checking out more books by this author. This particular story ended up falling a bit flat, though.Ā 

The plot started off super strong but kind of waned at the halfway point. Everything ended up feeling half-baked or unrealistic. I was left confused about the motives of those involved, and the resolution was downright unbelievable.Ā 

The world-building was so plain. There was nothing compelling or captivating about it.Ā 
Elizaā€™s character development was rushed, so that it felt unnatural. She was so firmly set in her ways that I didnā€™t believe her change in character could have happened within a few days. I will say that Anna and Nathanielā€™s development WAS well done, however. In both cases it felt like a long time coming and the events of the plot provided that catalyst for change, so the development felt earned.Ā 

Even though the quality of this book wasnā€™t great, I did actually enjoy reading it! And as I said, the writing style was fab. So this author is definitely not a write-off for me!Ā 

Rep: sapphic MC, lesbian (word not used even though there were opportunities to use it, and words like aromantic and asexual exist) MC, aroace MC

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mxbluet18's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted sad 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

5.0

Trigger warnings for Tarnished are the Stars include: medical content, childbirth and pregnancy, child death, grief, death, physical violence, parental abuse, physical abuse, ableism and classism.
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I initially picked this up because I knew it has an asexual character in it, but it quickly became that I was invested in the characters (some more than others though) and I just had to finish it to find out where the story was going.
~
I read Fire Becomes Her last year and found myself loving the writing style and characters in that one, and had had Tarnished on my TBR for a while so I made it a priority when I managed to get hold of it. I've also used the book to talk about an important point in an essay I'm working on about asexuality in the written media.
~
For me, having asexual representation, and aromantic asexual representation is something I love to see in the books I read, especially if the ideas or the feelings portrayed are a depiction I can relate to or sympathise with. Suffice it to say, I loved the representation in the book, I loved the characters (or those I was supposed to love anyway), I loved the character arcs, and the plot was rich and delicate.

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cozytam's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A fun sci fi dystopian novel with Aro Ace and Sapphic characters. I thought the overall story was interesting but there weee a few plot elements that I wish were executed better.

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shapesandcolours's review

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adventurous emotional 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? Yes

4.25


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iksme's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Loved the representation, this book would have had younger me in a choke hold. But I think it's a bit too young for me now...

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laurenleigh's review

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adventurous 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

4.0

I found this title for the ā€œscience fantasyā€ prompt in the Queer Lit Readathon. I guess I assume that science fiction and fantasy genres always overlap, but Iā€™m realizing thatā€™s not necessarily so! Definitely lots of steampunk vibes in this one, where clockwork hearts keep people alive but are also outlawed. I really grewĀ  to care for our three main characters, and I like novels where we get to jump between perspectives in each chapter. I enjoyed seeing the same event through different lenses, as well as watching the relationships unfold. I could have maybe used more exposition, and I would have liked more world building. But Iā€™m also not the kind of fantasy reader that needs every potential plot hole to be filled! I had a fun ride with these characters, and thatā€™s enough for me.

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readingelli's review

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adventurous 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? Yes

4.5

I enjoyed this, especially having an explicitly aromantic/ asexual character, one lesbian and one bisexual (they are described as kissing a boy and then like a girl).Ā 
I thought the plot was good, I liked the twists and the character development.Ā 

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animaepanda's review

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adventurous emotional
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.75

I love the aroace and sapphic rep so much! :)

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tinysierra's review

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adventurous emotional 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? Yes

3.75

Instalove, space related, wlw, Ace and aro repā€¦ count me in!

This book lacked intensity and build up. Everything felt too convent and happened too easily, even when things went wrong it still worked out somehow.

Rowanā€™s
death was supposed to be this heartbreaking turning point but it lack conviction.
Also they were able to subdueĀ 
the Commissioner and the Queen
in likeā€¦ a matter of minutes? I know it was 3 vs 1 but it happened way too easily. And like they both barley even fought back.
Ā 

Eliza was my favorite character. I love sneaky and strong female characters.

The discussion about aro and ace identity and labelsā€¦ brb crying /pos

-Discussions about ableism and disability

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