Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Name-Bearer by Natalia Hernandez

33 reviews

ladymickbeth's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

Plot: 4.5/5
World building: 4/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Writing: 3.75/5 
Grammar/editing: 2/5

In general, I enjoyed this book and the unique premise. Unfortunately, I don’t think this book was edited at all. There was some expositional elements repeated when they didn’t need to be, and there were a ridiculous amount of typos and missing or incorrect punctuation marks. There were also quite a few run-on sentences. The obvious lack of editing took me out of the story often.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

avacadosocks's review

Go to review page

adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ourxstorybegins's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional inspiring 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

4.5

Okay okay so the only reason that this didn’t get 5 stars from me is because it had a really slow start and was hard to get into. But once I was in, I was IN. This is book one in a series about a girl who was chosen to be the royal Name-Bearer but when it’s time for her to do said bearing, things do not go well and she ends up having to run away, change her identity, etc. etc. for a variety of reasons. From there, this book really focuses on the friendships she makes (and after 10 years of living in basically seclusion where she isn’t allowed to HAVE an identity of any sort, that’s huge) and her starting to figure out who she is when she can’t be the Name Bearer. I finished this and IMMEDIATELY started book 2 because I simply must know more.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

naomiysl's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

At once fresh and new as well as like a warm hug from an old friend to those of us who grew up on Tamora Pierce and the like. This story reads as if an unhinged tumbler post writing prompt was taken in several different directions at once, and then stirred with lovely badass warrior woman vibes. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

nick_w's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful inspiring relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Not very strong writing and some consistency issues. Characters aren’t well developed, and the plot moves too quickly. Entire battles or challenges are overcome in a few paragraphs with little detail or description, which doesn’t leave me aching to get to the next page. Also seems like a LOT of plot points are being set up for book 2. The vignette chapters are only a page or two long and don’t add to the story, they seem to be simulating mystery, but it falls flat. 

I do love the Latin culture, LGBTQ+ teasers, and where some of the plot lines seem to be going, and I’m looking forward to finishing the series and seeing the resolution. Just a bit below my reading level and the amount of detail I prefer in a book.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

searobin's review

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful slow-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

I absolutely LOVED this book, but it does have its issues, so rating it is a bit hard. The two main things are that it ends up feeling like one long prologue, and that the writing feels like YA but some of the violence are detailed to a degree that doesn't suit YA. I really loved the characters, I liked getting to know the friends and some  and the travelling companions so well, but it's a bit weird for an adventure book; it felt much more "slices of life" than adventure. I'm also curious about how our MC got so much education, but had so little awareness of how her situation was developing on the outside. It felt like she just ignored/didn't learn anything it for those 10 years. 

All in all, I loved how immersed we were in the story, but it is unusual for the genre.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

mj_86's review against another edition

Go to review page

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? No

4.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

readingwithtemperance's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional inspiring medium-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? Yes

4.5

This was fantastic. I am so thoroughly impressed by this book. The only reason it isn't 5 stars is because the ending felt rushed. However, I am SO excited to read the sequel. I'll probably be starting it almost immediately. 

Something I loved about this book was that the name bearer has no name. And when she goes through transitions in her life
name bearer to living amongst warrior women and again when she leaves them
she gives herself a new name. The meaning coordinating with the purpose of each new life. There was so much beauty in that. Names truly hold so much power. 

The friendship in this book was probably my favorite aspect. Watching them grow from young girls to women was incredible. 

I thought the concept of this book was utterly fascinating. I hope to learn more about the flowers of prophecy and their origin in the sequel.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

lady_valhella's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? No

4.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

scrubsandbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous 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

4.0

Found family, and sapphic love, in a beautiful Latinx-inspired world that is very queer-normative, as well as
a bully getting to face consequences,
nearly all my boxes were checked with this book. It was such a lovely story, and I loved the prose, cementing in my heart that you don't need to be traditionally published to actually be considered a worthy read. The ending's cliffhanger felt a little jarring because of the way it was written but besides that, I would absolutely give the next book a read and continue to reading anything that Natalia Hernandez puts out in this world.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings