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georgiesutton's review against another edition
2.0
I was disappointed because I thought the premise of the book was really cool and it didn't live up to that expectation. I found the book confusing, jumping between times and even within chapters the story seemed to flit about. A lot of the book I wasn't entirely sure what was going on which is fine sometimes when things are revealed but this was just plain confusing. Reveals or revelations were lost on me so I was still confused after things seemed like they were meant to be explained.
Whilst 'womens lit' is not normally a term I think is helpful this is a 'boy book' with explosions, sex, lack of emotion (other than horniness). None of our characters are likable because they are either unpleasant or too secretive.
I nearly DNFed but wanted to see if it got better. I should have DNFed after the first 100 pages.
It was interesting to read a sci fi book in Nigeria, but for the near future I thought there could have been more imagination than just aliens. It seemed there had been no progress in 30-40 years which I think is just a bit boring.
Whilst 'womens lit' is not normally a term I think is helpful this is a 'boy book' with explosions, sex, lack of emotion (other than horniness). None of our characters are likable because they are either unpleasant or too secretive.
I nearly DNFed but wanted to see if it got better. I should have DNFed after the first 100 pages.
It was interesting to read a sci fi book in Nigeria, but for the near future I thought there could have been more imagination than just aliens. It seemed there had been no progress in 30-40 years which I think is just a bit boring.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
annevh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was a trip. Great world building, and although the many timejumps made it somewhat discombobulating it never lost me.
Kaaro is a dick though. He is misogynist, oppotunistic, rude and mostly moralless. I did not enjoy spending all this time in his brain and his weird sexual thoughts and fantasies gave me the ick. Still, I cared about what happened to him, which is a real achievement.
This book and its world completely absorbed me for a couple of days and it was a fun ride. Not for everyone I think, but I'm eager to read the rest of the trilogy
Kaaro is a dick though. He is misogynist, oppotunistic, rude and mostly moralless. I did not enjoy spending all this time in his brain and his weird sexual thoughts and fantasies gave me the ick. Still, I cared about what happened to him, which is a real achievement.
This book and its world completely absorbed me for a couple of days and it was a fun ride. Not for everyone I think, but I'm eager to read the rest of the trilogy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Gore
avesmaria's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
Adventurous and imaginative, genre-bending mix of drama and speculative sci-fi. I have to give the author a lot of credit for the characterization of the narrator - I didn’t like him as a person but was really rooting for him by the end. The way the author wrote about “sensitives” and psychic ability was well-crafted and original.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, and Violence
geraldineleyendo's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The futuristic yet credible world built for this is truly interesting, and the author pours so much creativity in approaching the sci-fi themes. It creates really strong visuals (some of them hugely unpleasant or straight violent and tough to read!!!). Its moments of tension are a bit much in the erotica/gory side, but can still make an enjoyable read if you are open to them.
Characters have many interesting elements but they feel too random - it was hard to see how they fit in the story . The experience is that of reading a collage made from different short stories, not super cohesive.
Although I understand this is a trilogy, and maybe all the satisfaction comes in the following books, the story of Rosewater feels SO incomplete/unfinished it's a bit frustrating.
Characters have many interesting elements but they feel too random - it was hard to see how they fit in the story . The experience is that of reading a collage made from different short stories, not super cohesive.
Although I understand this is a trilogy, and maybe all the satisfaction comes in the following books, the story of Rosewater feels SO incomplete/unfinished it's a bit frustrating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Body horror and Violence
mdegge's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Aliens, psychics, mystery, broken timeline! Tough to rate... Definitely dark. The plot and world building are good. I am excited to see where the series goes with these dynamics. I wish there were a more likeable character in the story, but the main character is kind of neutral.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Police brutality
bluberrybooks's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Torture, and Medical content
deb_is_reading's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Positives: There were so much elements in this story that was just plain cool. The aliens, Kaaro's and other's abilities, the female characters are interesting and I wanted to see more of them.
Negative: So there were a lot of time jumps that weren't chronological. We'd jump from the 2060s to the 2040s to the 2060s again then to the 2050s and references to other time periods within those time jumps. It felt like I should have had a scrap piece of paper to keep track of things. It was a little bit of work to follow. The writing is fine and digestible though.
Sexual moments were also very jarring at times. Romantic moments between Kaaro and Aminat were fine but there were also moments of random erections and sudden moments of sex/sexual assaults. I try to give the author the benefit of the doubt but I felt that a lot of random bouts of sexuality were straight up not needed. It's so strange because our main character is a stated misogynist and we do see him grow a bit, but the random sexual bits kinda ruin it.
Further thoughts: I might be more interested by the next installment because I think we follow more perspectives.
Negative: So there were a lot of time jumps that weren't chronological. We'd jump from the 2060s to the 2040s to the 2060s again then to the 2050s and references to other time periods within those time jumps. It felt like I should have had a scrap piece of paper to keep track of things. It was a little bit of work to follow. The writing is fine and digestible though.
Sexual moments were also very jarring at times. Romantic moments between Kaaro and Aminat were fine but there were also moments of random erections and sudden moments of sex/sexual assaults. I try to give the author the benefit of the doubt but I felt that a lot of random bouts of sexuality were straight up not needed. It's so strange because our main character is a stated misogynist and we do see him grow a bit, but the random sexual bits kinda ruin it.
Further thoughts: I might be more interested by the next installment because I think we follow more perspectives.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia, Sexism, and Torture
cassie7e's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Fascinating worldbuilding/sci fi take. Love a setting that's not in the US or Europe. Works as a stand alone (thank goodness) though I will eventually continue the series.
The writing has a tone that feels very masculine and unrelatable to me (similar to how I felt about American Gods, though less offputting in this book), but books do not have to be relatable to be enjoyable! The weirdness kept me interested. Also I enjoy a nonlinear narrative.
The writing has a tone that feels very masculine and unrelatable to me (similar to how I felt about American Gods, though less offputting in this book), but books do not have to be relatable to be enjoyable! The weirdness kept me interested. Also I enjoy a nonlinear narrative.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror and Torture
Minor: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
mine_gerber's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Infidelity, Torture, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia and Stalking
rainydaycookies's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
2.5
All the sexual commentary was distracting. The main character is unlikable. It keeps the pages turning, but I wouldn’t say I love this book. Undecided if I want to go onto the next books told from a different characters POV or not.
Seriously why does this guy want to f every female with a pulse??
Seriously why does this guy want to f every female with a pulse??
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, and Vomit