Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Rosalera by Tade Thompson

6 reviews

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.

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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

emilycombs's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-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

5.0

Rosewater has a bit of a slow start, but it was intriguing from the beginning nonetheless—and all the build-up was definitely necessary to provide a framework before getting into the real action and mysterious twists and turns. It's a good mix of horror, sci-fi/fantasy, and epic story elements and it absolutely kept me hooked until the end. I'm looking forward to finishing out the trilogy!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Sexual content, and Vomit

Moderate: Body horror and Violence

Minor: Sexism, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy

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

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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

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!

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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

perditorian's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Terminal illness, and Medical content

Minor: Homophobia and Miscarriage

v171's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense fast-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

5.0

This was an incredibly engaging, interesting read from start to finish. I have been on a New Weird kick recently, and I think Rosewater has set the standard. Everything about this book's construction was spot on. The writing was accessible, but not bland. The characters all felt distinctly human. The aliens felt "appropriately" alien. The setting across real world African locations and fictional areas was interesting to follow. If I had only one critique, it was that the story was a bit touch and go, but with how engaging it was, I didn't mind at all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, and Medical trauma

Minor: Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, and Death of parent