Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

11 reviews

augustar14's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense 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? Yes

3.5

This book had been on my tbr list for a while before I read it. While I had high hopes for it, it ultimately didn't live up to them.
It's difficult for a book this long not to feel slow paced. There was plenty of action that got me through, but it still overall felt a little slow.
I also struggle with the main character and her actions/choices at times. I understand her motivations and that her situation is complex, difficult, and influenced by significantly different cultural beliefs. And, at the same time, it is painful to see her grow into the person she becomes. The parallels with the eunuch general are fascinating, and I do plan to at least try to read to sequel to see where that thread goes. His story and decisions are painful to follow, though, too. Overall, it is a difficult read, one that offers little reward for the suffering and pain it puts the reader through. It is not a happily ever after story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Death, Infertility, Torture, Blood, Abandonment, Murder, Homophobia, Bullying, Child death, Xenophobia, War, Child abuse, Genocide, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Sexism, Misogyny, Violence, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Medical content and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Vomit and Excrement

anjasshelf's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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: Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Gore, Sexism, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, War, Sexual content, Child death, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Racism, Dysphoria, Vomit, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Alcohol, Misogyny, and Racial slurs

Minor: Grief

tiernanhunter's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, War, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Death, Cursing, Racism, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Blood

Minor: Death of parent, Genocide, Ableism, Xenophobia, Child death, and Classism

acreech's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.5

This was simultaneously challenging for me to read (I don't handle violence very well) and also so compelling I couldn't stop reading it. I wanted to like the main character, but they kept making choices that I did not like.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Death, War, and Murder

Moderate: Physical abuse, Bullying, and Racial slurs

Minor: Child abuse and Death of parent

aileron's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Torture, Gore, Ableism, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Death, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Violence, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Grief, Alcohol, Bullying, Child death, and Death of parent

Minor: Cannibalism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Classism, Excrement, Racial slurs, and Racism

zombiezami's review against another edition

emotional tense

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

3.75

While I enjoyed the characters and the ways that the author explored gender expressions and identities in this book, the plot lost me several times. I'm learning it's hard for me to pay attention to narratives that revolve around war. I feel like I would have liked this more as a television show or movie. Some aspects were hard to visualize for me. Not sure if I'll read the sequel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Ableism, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Trafficking, Violence, Body horror, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Excrement, Gore, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, and Vomit

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

hannahbailey's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

3.0

I had huge expectations for this epic tale of a girl who rose to power despite all odds. Sadly I preferred the idea over the execution. I found it really hard to connect with the characters because of the third person narration and time jumps.

However, I did love the exploration of gender in the setting of war and violence. It was really interesting to watch the different characters grow into their respective roles. The subtle use of fantasy added an extra element of risk, so the story felt believable with incredibly high stakes.

Fantasy fans will love the diverse cast and character development, as well as the exciting, action-packed plot. I would've enjoyed the book a lot more had it been written in first-person, though I think this is more a fault of my own than that of the book's.

Check trigger warnings for this book as it's packed full of them - definitely not a light read.

thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Slavery, Body horror, Grief, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Physical abuse, Sexism, War, Child death, Ableism, Bullying, Gore, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Racial slurs

veronikav's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

 Got interested in it because of the premise of

lesbian fisting

, stayed for the eunuch general.

I didn't have some extra high hopes going into this. All I had known about this books were little tidbits and memes from tiktok (some of the more explicit scenes were very popular there) but nothing of real substance. Oh also I had seen some quotes on tumblr and surprisingly enjoyed them. Still I was expecting another run-of-the-mill YA/new adult fiction that gets mass produced and published these days. I was wrong and I am happy that is the case.
First of all - whoever described this as "Mulan meets Achilles" is doing the story a big injustice. While you could draw parallels between those it does feel like whoever wrote that just saw "Chinese girl who pretends to be a man fights in a war" and "gay" and thought it an appropriate comparison. But rather than that I would draw a comparison to what is the predecessor of this book which is the Chinese fantasy web novel genre which then gave birth to wuxia/xianxia dramas.
As much as there are many elements that you would find in a Chinese fantasy web novel it is clearly different - first noticable difference being the language it is written in. After all despite translations the cadences and writing styles of each language are vastly different and it is clear that SWBS was written for English not transformed into it as an afterthought. Therefore it proves a much easier and smoother read while having the same overall tone.
From what I had heard about the novel I didn't expect it to have such a profound message pertaining to conceptions of gender. That was what honestly drew me in more and more with each chapter - the construction of gender in a highly patriarchal society - the existence of Other gendered states of being in such a space. My favorite character of course ended up being Ouyang because there was something so incredibly fascinating about him. Actually in the first book I'd say the romance between Ouyang and Esen is much more well-developed and intriguing compared to the main couple - who despite having more actual moments are on a smoother path. I've always been into the tragic love stories.
Anyways, I rate this book highly - had to hesitate between a 4 and a 5, but ended up giving it a 5 because I know I can't apply my classical lit standards to everything. Think of it as a rounded up 4.5. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Gore, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, and War

body mutilation one of the important characters is an eunuch and it's a very important part of his character arch. so constant comments about this etc.

danny_thereader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Murder, and Racism

emilyready's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

5.0

Sweeping epic for fans of historical dramas and stories of great fates seized.

This book has been misadvertised as "women loving women," when Zhu, the main character, would probably better be described as nonbinary. The discussions around Zhu's gender were nuanced even with the limitations of not having modern labels to describe it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Death

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Violence

Minor: Ableism and Gore