Reviews tagging 'Grief'

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan

95 reviews

blueberry0531's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Kidnapping

plsreadthebooksyoualreadyhave's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Torture, Grief, and War

jesshaleth's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

If there had been slightly fewer moments meriting a content warning it would've been 5 stars for me, so maybe it will be for you. But yeah - I think it ticked more content warnings than it didn't, so, at your own risk.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Outing, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

dreadspawn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Abortion, and Pregnancy

helfire124's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

lizzisok's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.25

much darker than the first one, but i enjoyed seeing Zhu reflect more on their choices and how it changed them throughout the book. i really enjoyed this sequel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Homophobia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Torture and Vomit

cass_cgallegos's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy

jes312's review against another edition

challenging dark tense 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? It's complicated

3.5

I loved the first book, but had a harder time with the second installment (partially because this is much darker--see content warnings). There are more POV in this book, which I wasn't as invested in from the first book, and because of that, I felt like it bogged the story down. I loved that

Zhu and Ouyang teamed up

and I wanted more from Ma's perspective, especially given how instrumental her story is in the last part of the book.

I know this is a duology, but I kind of wish there was a third, so we could see if

Zhu lives up to expectations as Emperor. Was all the sacrifice worth it?

Not knowing anything about the Ming Empire, I was left wanting more and the story feels unfinished.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Abandonment

jess_always_reading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This sequel to She Who Became the Sun blew me away. It's much darker than the first novel (TW: more graphic sexual violence than She Who Became the Sun) but it doesn't feel gratuitous. 

Parker-Chan has a gift for creating complex characters and wonderfully intersecting storylines. In a rare move, I found myself looking forward to reading about and even loving some of the 'villains' (more like antagonists) in the story and there were some unexpected twists and turns that kept me guessing. 

He Who Drowned the World maintains and further develops the queer themes and relationships Parker Chan set up in She Who Became the Sun in a way that feels more bold than the first novel but still authentic to the world they have created. 

I can't recommend this series enough! 10/10!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Grief, Abortion, and War

Moderate: Blood and Murder

kirstinlwx's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Outing, and Dysphoria