Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Rosalera by Tade Thompson

9 reviews

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. 

---

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

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

maricasement's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.75

I have conflicted feelings about this book. I went into it knowing only what was written on the blurb and was really excited for the story. The story is told in first person and as the main character (Kaaro) was introduced I got even more excited because I thought they were an interesting, if a bit misogynistic, female character. Alas, Kaaro turned out to be an arrogant and irritating misogynistic male character. My dislike for him was increased by being immersed in his inner thoughts and his obliviousness to his faults. However, I do understand why the author made the choice to use the first person perspective as it becomes more relevant and important in setting the scene as the book progresses.
Because of my dislike for Kaaro, the first half of the book dragged. There was a lot being set up at the start as well, and this meant that the book took a while to grip me. Once the book revealed an awareness of Kaaro's faults and the mystery started to take shape, I started enjoying the book a bit more. Don't get me wrong, Kaaro is still a character I dislike, but the other (female) characters, the plot and the world building now have me hooked.
I will probably read the next in the series, as it seems to be told from a different character's perspective and I would love to learn more about the world Tade Thompson has crafted.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Vomit, and War

internationalreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

sprigofjuniper's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective 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? N/A

5.0

rosewater is the first installment in tade thompson's wormwood trilogy. The story is set in nigeria in 2066, and it follows the protagonist kaaro, an agent for section 45 of nigeria's secret government. kaaro is a sensitive, meaning he can access a dimension called the xenosphere in which he reads people's thoughts. each chapter follows kaaro during different influential chapters of his life, from first discovering his abilities to his current work with S45. there's a lot of jumping around, but it isn't confusing; the time skips add context and backstory when we need it, so we aren't overwhelmed by chronology. the story was engaging, and I never felt bored while reading. i wouldn't say kaaro is loveable, but I grew to admire and respect him throughout the book. he's relatable and funny though very private. i loved experiencing how romance influenced his attitude and outlook. i can't wait to get my hands on the next book! 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infidelity, Torture, and Vomit

skudiklier's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This book was super interesting! I had a weird experience reading it because I did so very slowly and deliberately, which is unusual for me. It was somewhat dark and not entirely what I expected. But I hope to read the rest of the trilogy eventually!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Child death, Fatphobia, Genocide, Homophobia, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Islamophobia, Car accident, Colonisation, and War

sarah984's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

This is a really unique alien invasion story set in Nigeria in the 2060s, in a city that has built up around an alien biodome that mysteriously heals the sick once per year. The alien has also released a sort of spore into the atmosphere that allows some people to access special abilities like mind reading. The main character is a psychic who (mostly unwillingly) works for the government. His perspective is awful because he's an immature misogynist, but the story itself and the nature of colonization that it exposes are interesting.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Slavery, and Cannibalism

kylieqrada's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.5

I'm waffling between a 3.5 and a 4 ⭐s on this one. It is a fascinating and wholly original start to a sci-fi series set in Nigeria and following a biological alien lifeform that changes the makeup of Earth itself???? And then there's like people with telepathic powers???? And spy stuff???? And government conspiracies???? And I loved it???? The writing style was definitely different, it took a bit for me to get used to it. Also our MC is not the most likeable of bros. But overall, I enjoyed this immensely and will be continuing the series and reading more from Tade Thompson.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Murder

horizonous's review against another edition

There are only so many orgasms - by the male MC, just for clarification; the women in this book only seem to exist in terms of his sexual satisfaction or for him to disrespect them - and descriptions of breasts and mentions of vomit I can read about before I call it quits.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism and Murder

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, and Medical content

Minor: Animal death and Misogyny