Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Castles in Their Bones by Laura Sebastian

8 reviews

jemau11's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

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

4.75

For the most part, this book was exactly what I wanted it to be. Fun plotting, good world building, nice mix of characters. There is a bit of a plot hole that comes from the big reveal, though.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Homophobia and Sexual assault

kassidyreads's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death, Homophobia, Infertility, Death of parent, and War

ezwolf's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Triplet princesses who are trained from birth to marry into other royal families and take over so their mother, the Empress, can rule all of them.

That sounds incredibly interesting and it was for the most part, but I wasn't really wowed by the book. It was a fine read and if you like court fantasies then this is probably a book you would like. I'm interested enough to continue the series but I don't know, I was kind of underwhelmed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Body shaming, Child death, Homophobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual assault

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

3.25

The premise of this book centers around political intrigue told in multiple POV.

While I'm not a big fan of multiple POV, especially when it's more than two, I did enjoy this book.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

kodafaith's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I was very conflicted about this book. I loved the political intrigue and following the separate yet connected plots. However I felt the whole thing fell flat and a lot of it was just forgettable.
The ending does leave on such a cliffhanger that will definitely have me coming back for more.

Also another issue I had was with the ebook where the names to distinguish whose POV we were in got mixed up at about half way and kept being wrong throughout. I was alternating with the audiobook and it was just making it confusing with no chapter numbers and then getting mixed up. There were also a few moments where a name was wrong in the text. Stuff like that doesn’t normally bug me but it kept occurring so it got annoying.

Overall it was a fun series and was entertaining enough, I’m looking forward to the other books to see where the books go. But this one didn’t fully connect for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexism, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Blood, and Pregnancy

amccarthy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

Three femme fatale princesses are sent by their mother into political marriages with a lifetime of training towards starting a war. Sophronia, Daphne, and Beatriz have all been given specific tasks to match their carefully crafted skillsets. If each completes her part of the plan, their mother will arrive in the aftermath of her neighbors' conflicts just in time to sweep over the whole continent and rule with impunity.

I was well entertained by this trilogy starter and for over 500 pages, too. The smooth storytelling shifts gears between the three sisters, keeping up a constant pressure with the tense situations entangling our protagonists. I was fully absorbed watching the girls decide if and how to fulfill their roles once off on their own, knowing the Empress is always watching and has the means to get the result she wants at any cost. No sister is safe in her new home, nobody has all the information about her role in the plan, and there are other forces and intrigues at play that none of them foresaw. And don't even get me started on the pesky intrusions of feelings and moral compasses messing with the plan.

All the sisters have potential romantic relationships (mostly instalove vibes bleh), but it's the platonic bonds they form after a lifetime of being isolated by their mother that I found most layered and compelling. The sisterhood is also complex, built on unconditional love but also differences of personality and opinion that run deep, causing fractures and divergences even as they complement one another. I am curious to see if and how these connections may grow as the series continues. The book ends on a mighty twist, not entirely shocking but still illuminating connections and undercurrents to the plots at hand. I was left with a lot of questions about where the story will go next, curious about how our characters will develop now that some truths are out in the open, others still waiting in the wings to strike.

My ultimate feeling is that this was a fun and easy to follow political fantasy. It's not a terribly deep or genre-altering tale, but I want to see where the series goes next and how the protagonists grow. Thanks to Delacorte for my copy to read and review!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child death, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and War

astralbooks's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Suicide