Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor

3 reviews

ttatt's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

grantsharpies's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

deagaric's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

Enthralling story with a wide array of characters and POVs. This is a multifaceted story about dirty money and the people behind it in the cities and backcountry of India in the 1990s and early 2000s. Very unique setting and a (mostly) fast-paced, insane plot filled with mind-numbing wealth, deception, violence, and forbidden love.

I loved the unpredictable story line and the family saga aspect of the tale. Though I strongly recommend glancing at the trigger warnings before starting this book (the continued rape and sodomy of a minor is very explicit and highly disturbing and I genuinely wish I had skipped reading those chapters), Kapoor also adds in details about the strengths of human bonds and the need for secure attachment to others even when raised around violence and neglect. Quite a few comedic moments as well, particularly from Sunny's assistant, Eli, towards the end.

I also liked learning about India's geography and spent a decent amount of time googling up the places so I can imagine the setting more clearly. The author was born and raised in northern India and I think brings a special expertise to capturing it as a backdrop to the story.

The reason I give this a 4 rather than 5 is the weird pacing; it'll be 100mph for dozens of pages, and then slow down into a school-zone pace for a 100 more. Particularly around the point of Book/Section 3 and 4, the story became a slog, and took willpower to push through to the end. I assume a lot of the seemling unnecessary backstory will become important in the second and third book of this trilogy, so keeping my eyes peeled for that!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Child abuse, Torture, Abortion, and Death of parent