Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

El emperador goblin by Katherine Addison

19 reviews

sashahc's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

One of the other things I did last week was re-read all of Katherine Addison's #book s in the Goblin Emperor world (Together called "The Chronicles of Osreth").  These are "Goblin Emperor," "Witness for the Dead," and "The Grief of Stones."  I really really really like these books.  They are more vibe than plot, but the main characters are so engaging and have such rich inner lives, and the world building is fantastic.  The first centers an unlikely young emperor who is dropped head first into court politics.  The second and third are intertwined murder mysteries solved by a queer depressed cleric who can hear the dead.  It was great to read them one after another because the lead right into each other.  Highly rec'd.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Gaslighting

Moderate: Death of parent

pearrots's review against another edition

challenging hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Abandonment

kers_tin's review against another edition

funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, Bullying, Child abuse, Abandonment, and Death of parent

birdofalltrades's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Violence, Bullying, Classism, Grief, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Murder, Blood, and Sexism

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, and Alcoholism

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, and Infertility

clarabooksit's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Sexism, Abandonment, Grief, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Racism

Moderate: Violence, Alcoholism, Death, and Murder

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

bergha1998's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

Maia is woken up unexpectedly with the news that his father the emperor as well as his half-brothers are all dead. Given that news he realizes he is the next emperor, even though he has had no training & has only visited the court once. 

Political Fantasy, Heartwarming, Incredible Character Development 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Violence, Bullying, Grief, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

lex_y's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, and Bullying

Minor: Xenophobia

michmoo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Love my boy Maya - he deserves all of the hugs and blankets. 

100% one of my favourites for this year and quite possibly of all time. I will definitely be seeking out the companion novels to keep exploring this world.

Spoiler

Also, my goodness, just let him be friends with his guards! Please for the love of god, etiquette be damned, my child is lonely!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Classism, Violence, Murder, Death of parent, Child abuse, Abandonment, and Death

Minor: Racism, War, Misogyny, and Alcohol

vivivi's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing 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

This is my second time reading the book! It was a long enough gap between my first read and now that I forgot the details of the plot, but I remember loving it. Now that I've read it again, I'm so happy I didn't remember much, so that I could enjoy it again anew. 

AND THERE ARE SEQUELS NOW!! 😍 

Maia is such a cinnamon roll. He's so sweet. I love how he's a half goblin but he still became a good emperor. There are quite a lot of nods to interesting topics in the story that I didn't recognize / see during my first read, but I appreciate them very much. I love the worldbuilding, especially the societal portion of it. 

The political intrigue is excellent. We see him grow into his role. I guess this is considered a cozy fantasy. There's a murder mystery, but rather than the typical storyline where the emperor commands an investigator to look into it and you follow the case and find clues, you're looking in from the outside from the emperor's POV. Love it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse

Moderate: Death of parent and Violence

Minor: Racism

katie_thompson's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Death, Grief, Murder, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Racism, and War

Moderate: Physical abuse, Confinement, and Cursing

Minor: Abortion