Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

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

70 reviews

aexileigh's review against another edition

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

pineapple_queen's review against another edition

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

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

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

its2early4this's review against another edition

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)

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

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

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

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.

librariangeorgia's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

I actually picked this book up from Waterstones on a whim, and this is not the kind of book I’d usually go for.

Split into 3 sections, we follow the story of the mermaid (told in Flora and Evelyn’s perspective), the story of the witch (told in Flora, Evelyn and Rake’s perspective) and then the story of the sea (told in Flora, Evelyn, Rake and Genevieve’s perspective). I like that there was a new perspective added with each section so we got to see the bigger picture. I would’ve liked to have Alfie’s perspective as well as that would’ve been interesting along side Flora’s.

I absolutely adored Flora and Evelyn; they must be protected at all costs.

I found the magic element quite interesting, not what I was expecting to be honest but it fit quite well with the story.

Before I’d finished the book, I was hoping for a sequel. However, with the way it's ended, I feel happy that the whole story was wrapped up well - even if I was raging at /that/ moment. That being said, I wouldn’t be opposed to a prequel into Xenobia’s story!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, and Violence

booksnooksandcooks's review against another edition

DNF’ed at 33%

I just couldn’t bring myself to enjoy the characters and the romance felt rushed and oversimplified. I also felt icky about a Black character being a slaver which, as someone who has taken a whole class on pirates, I understand was something that happened, but it didn’t seem necessary in a fantasy space.

The plot seemed interesting and would have kept me going if it didn’t feel like it was going to drag on by the time I DNF’ed. I really wanted to enjoy this novel, but unfortunately I couldn’t bring myself to continue.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Slavery, and Colonisation

Moderate: Misogyny

Minor: Rape

ezwolf's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

First of all the way this book deals with gender is amazing and Florian is one of my favorite characters in relation to how they use gender and presentation and it was great. 

Second, if you’re looking for a pirate story sort of similar to Our Flag Means Death this is for you. They’re similar but also quite different. It’s got gay characters and non-binary pirates and nobility escaping their duties. 

I’m not usually one for alternating point of views but I thought all of these characters were great and even if you weren’t meant to root for them; they were still intriguing to read about and read their motivations. 

Flora and Evelyn’s relationship and the stories of love and how they overcome the idea that all love ends in heartbreak was wonderful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Drug use, Torture, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Kidnapping, and Grief

Minor: Child abuse and Sexual assault

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

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

The rape is only implied but features pretty heavily.

dbogen47's review against another edition

adventurous 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

3.5

It took me a little to get into this book, but I flew through the second half in almost one sitting. While I think there were a few inconsistencies and some underdeveloped world building (as is the case with a lot of stand alone fantasy) I think this was a pretty solid book. The ending overall definitely moved me. I will say the inclusion of the fourth perspective in the third part confused me. I’m not sure it was truly necessary.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Abandonment, and Colonisation

ethen_rey's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, and Slavery

Minor: Addiction

doomluz's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Homophobia, Torture, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Slavery

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault