Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Queen of Myth and Monsters by Scarlett St. Clair

11 reviews

liaantje's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.25

That moment when you'r  reading a book and realise that the FMC is not your type of woman, for me that was when my favourite (side) character tries to kill the FMC, and you're actually hoping she dies......

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Gore, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Dysphoria

turtles555's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad 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

4.0

The societal flaws the author confronts with clever telling of the lead's experiences is so on point. I did have to put the book down from time to time just to process the cluster-fck of crap-sht history of human power grabs. Because you know, set in a fictional world with all sorts of fascinating creatures, the author didn't miss a beat and the truth of all that she brought to light  required some proper grieving.

The examinations of colonialism,  villianisation of witches, and blatantly tolerated sexism, massively outplays the handful of non-plot beats that felt repetitive. That being said, the repetition may bring a sense of who our lead character is in the deepest corners of her heart. 

Bang on. Very much recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

mlovesbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

3.0

Not a bad sequel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexism, and Blood

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Pregnancy

luna_lovelace's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

From the very beginning I was trying to read carefully to watch for any clues on who the traitor was and

I did not expect there to be two! I was shocked on who it was, expecting someone else.

I had my suspicions, but I just didn't want it to be true because I grew to love them. It speaks volumes on how Isolde must be feeling about their betrayal. 

Adrian's abilities come to light and

I had no idea how powerful he really was. The way he was able to control the mind of a vampire, but only those he turns. So of course, that's not very useful with the war that is going on! Still, I wished this ability showed up more often than his ability to read minds.

I am just glad the main characters are not a Mary Sue, there's definitely a lot of questionable decisions they made that made me see them in a different light, but as the story progresses it's hard to not feel for them.

Expect to do a lot of gasping because so much goes on in such a short amount of time that it has your head spinning trying to put it all together.

People she holds dear to her heart betray her for "the greater good", while people like Killian and Safira are starting to earn her trust.

I am stunned on how much character development Killian and Safira have on this book. I can't wait to read how it continues to unfold!

One thing that was a bit difficult to understand was when Isolde re-lived Yesenia's memories because it was not easy to distinguish if Isolde was in the present or past. I had to re-read a couple times to grasp what time period the author was talking about. Maybe if it was italicized or written as a chapter it would have been easier to decipher. 

Overall, I can't wait for the third book, Adrian and Isolde went through so much already, I can't wait to continue reading about her journey to conquer despite everything!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Rape, Torture, Toxic friendship, and War

Minor: Child death, Sexism, and Pregnancy

thestickwitch's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

For me this was more of a back story book that really got you connected with the characters and their traumas with some sprinkles of happy moments and spicy scenes. While also showcasing how the character navigate through the traumas even in times of strife. I will be waiting in anticipation for book 3.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

mo_books_read's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and War

mermaidmommy19's review against another edition

4.75

This was such a compelling sequel in my opinion. It was very good. There was a bit of over used vocabulary toward the end, such as "devastated" and "murdered" which I believe were intended to evoke strong emotion, but eventually lost all meaning due to over use. Beyond that, I don't really have any complaints.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Slavery, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury

bedtimesandbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pregnancy

midnacine's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-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

I am thoroughly upset with how that ended, Scarlett really knows how to fuck with your emotions. God I love this series.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Child death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy

Minor: Sexual violence, Vomit, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

ariellesbookreviews's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

This book really took a left turn. What Scarlet St. Clair started out in King of Battle of Blood has disappeared. Readers are shown entirely different characters with completely new backstories. 

In book one, the reader is led to believe that the kingdom of Redvak is misunderstood and is not filled with brutal monsters. However, what has developed in Queen of the Myth and Monsters seems to show some truth to the rumors. King Adrian has essentially become an ineffective and terrible ruler. He continuously murders his people for disagreeing with him and continues his quest to conquer; however, the reader is never given a definitive reason. Adrian is shown to place his motives above those of his people and Isolde. 

Isolde continually makes excuses for Adrian and his abhorrent behavior, but she has no real power. Isolde is overlooked by both Adrian and the court during court decisions despite having better leadership skills and care for the people. Since King of Battle and Blood, Adrian says he wants more than a wife; he wants a queen, but he continually dismisses Isolde’s thoughts and feelings. I cannot see a way forward in this series for me to continue to root for this relationship, and at this point in time, I believe Adrian is becoming the villain. Perhaps he always was.

A Queen of Myth and Monsters is a lot darker than its predecessor. While there were some darker aspects to the story in the first book, the amount of graphic and horrendous backstories readers are getting has dramatically increased. St. Clair intersects trauma with smut scenes, and it is very discombobulating and can feel inappropriate. Going from reading about someone who is being assaulted to getting a sex scene between the two main characters is jarring and uncomfortable.  

It sometimes feels like the author is just adding trauma to the story for trauma's sake. For example, you learned that Yesenia was assaulted before she was murdered by Dragos, but that has no effect on the story. Isolde does not remember the trauma of the assault, so why it is brought up to the reader does not make sense. Dragos has already been villainized in the story, so adding these assaults seems almost redundant. St. Clair may be trying to create a narrative of anti-misogyny, does not develop soon enough in the storyline to better the plot. 

Some of the finer details of this book also do not make sense. At one point in the story, hundreds of thousands of humans are turned into vampires over maybe a week or two. The timing and logistics do not make sense, and it seems like an easy plot hole to pick out. How did just a couple of people turn so many into vampires so quickly? Where were these newly turned vampires getting food? Why would all of these vampires agree to fight in an army? Many other aspects of the ending were not developed, including Isolde's transformation into a vampire. Isolde was turned, and nothing changed, and a separate pivotal part of the book lasted only a page and a half.

At this point in the story, it feels like scarlet St. Clair has absolutely no idea what is going on and did not plot out the storyline. She appears just as confused as the reader. The book has no structure and seems to develop on a whim. Queen of Myth and Monsters was a disappointment compared to the first book, and I do not know if I will continue this series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Rape and War