Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

31 reviews

axel_p's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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

4.0

I have no idea why it took me so long to read this book.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

lelekochka's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, and Sexual harassment

angelmoo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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 assault, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, and Kidnapping

kingcrookback's review against another edition

adventurous 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

I...wasn't expecting this to make me cry the way it did. The character all still being teenagers is still a sticking point for me--although, props to Leigh Bardugo, she did turn that into a little tongue-in-cheek joke in the book. But Bardugo handles both plot and character tension so well and balances them with each other so evenly that I could hardly bear to put the book down sometimes. My only, relatively minor issue is that, as an Asian person, I found the handling of the Shu (particularly events

around Wylan wearing Kuwei's face

) characters uncomfortable. But overall, Bardugo really stuck the landing with this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

poodily's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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: Addiction, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Slavery

Minor: Xenophobia and Trafficking

peggy_racham's review against another edition

4.75

 I fell in love with this book from the start.It was briliant to see what "brick by brick" looked like. All the couples, descriptions of falling in love and getting closer, the scheme, is so well writen. Reading about these character slowly dealing with their trauma and being more themselves, its the best feeling. (The moderate TW's are not super explicit and are brief. Only blood and injury are current events the rest are flashbacks or memories.)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Gun violence, Rape, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

deerlybeloved's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

If I could rate it any higher, I would.

Crooked Kingdom is a phenomenal sequel to Six of Crows, leaving the reader antsy and waiting, on the edge of their seat with every new twist and turn. Every revealed detail, paid off foreshadowing, character interaction, and planned event leaves you in a new bout of stunned silence as you listen, tense and wanting to know more.

Each character is unique, and fleshed out, meaning every chapter (each written from a different perspective) leaves you excited to learn more about that individual, and has its own personal bit of characterized flair that makes you excited to turn the page and learn who the next point-of-view is fore-- Matthias, Inej, Wylan? You just have to find out, sleep be damned.

So much weaves together to form a plot where just as one issue is resolved, you remember that ah, that's right, three chapters earlier that other plot point was introduced, and all of a sudden it's coming back-- You can't believe you forgot, but how could you not when the fate of the world was being handled first?!

The end will break your heart, as much as it heals it, giving you as many tears as it does grins as you flip through the ending chapters and realize just how much has been lost...and how much is being rebuilt.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Inej, one of the main characters, has a backstory HEAVILY rooted in discussion of pedophilia, child trafficking, sex trafficking, slavery, sexual slavery, rape, sexual abuse, kidnapping, and so much more. While handled with beautiful tact and insight, the depictions of flashbacks and Inej's feelings of these things can comfort survivors of similar things as much as it destroys us. Go with caution. As well, religious bigotry, ableism, trauma, emotional neglect, horrid things happening to children, war, racial fetishization, and so much more is dealt with in tactful ways, but ever presently used as reminders that the world is as imperfect and dark as it is beautiful.

themoonshoes's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad 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

4.5

the crows my babies…… kanej makes me want to pull my hair out and run into the ocean <3

also i knew matthias was getting axed and it still hurted </3

anyways a little more drawn out than the first book but it needed to seem like the crows were at the end of their rope so i get it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Ableism, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Abandonment

definitely read these before the shadow and bone books

chelsea_schultz'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: Torture

Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Trafficking, and Kidnapping

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders

troisha'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: Death, Violence, Blood, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Confinement, Slavery, Trafficking, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Vomit, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and War