Reviews tagging 'Death'

Rebelové vln by Sara Raasch

6 reviews

woolgathering_jane's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

Such a good book. Loved the complex politics and quite heavy themes (that were explored in a safe, fictional space), the world, the magic, the characters, and the subtle Spanish/latin inspiration (lol), and the twists??? Omg
The worst thing about it is the writing style that didn't really resonate with me, but it was fine. And this book doesn't have that strange quality that makes you obsessed with it, that's why it's not 5/5. But it was good, I really enjoyed it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Confinement, Colonisation, Torture, War, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racism and Fire/Fire injury

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Blood, War, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Chronic illness, and Child abuse

Moderate: Colonisation, Kidnapping, Child death, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, and Murder

clarabooksit's review against another edition

adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Murder, Terminal illness, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Colonisation, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Physical abuse, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

Minor: Torture

athenathestorier's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

While not necessarily new in concept, I did find myself getting swept away by this story. The subplots and characters reminded me of Chima’s Heir Chronicles and Maas’s Throne of Glass series. I liked that we see a lot of racial diversity within the set-up of this fantasy world, with some of the same micro-aggressions and concerns that you would see in real life, especially within a melting pot country ripe with conflict. Also of note is that one of our 3 POVs/Main characters is a queer man, as well as a few support characters, and this is never made a big deal of within the story. This is representation that a lot of us have been calling for for a while. 

However, the fast-paced story was so plot-driven that the characters felt like they were being excessively dragged by it. None of their actions really made a difference during the entire duration of this book. And even though Lu was presented to us as composed and battle-efficient, she loses any semblance of these traits at the mere mention of the real enemy or their associates. Granted, this is due to battle trauma, but we are led to believe that everyone wants her with them on the battlefield despite the ONLY show she’s done to warrant this is the escape at the very beginning of the book and the fact that she never spills their secrets. While I’m sure that book 2 plans to solve all of this, the description sounds like all 3 characters will be battling with same exact internal battles for a while yet. 

 Notable quotes:
"Lu clung to that pride like she clung to hope."
"Better to wound your ego with compromise than feed your own pride with blood." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Death

Minor: Physical abuse and Racism

fool_ofabook's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Religious bigotry, Torture, Gaslighting, and Cursing

Moderate: Child abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Gaslighting

talkstofish's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

This book was the first recommendation from Storygraph that I received and finished. I was absorbed into the storyline immediately. The book centers on 3 characters from different backgrounds: a prince of a country that maintains power through religious oppression, a woman who lived and fought through a revolution as a child to free her island from that country, and a man who was tortured by that country and lives on the fringes of the island's society. As the island is on the brink of a civil war and the oppressive colonizers make their own moves in the shadows, all the characters question and grow their world views as they try to prevent needless deaths at the hands of various "leaders". The ending of the first book is a tense and exciting cliffhanger, and I cannot wait to get started on the second book.

One of the 3 main characters is LGBTQIA+, as well as a few minor characters. It's normal in the world-building, but the first book doesn't contain any super happy functional relationships (for anyone, really) if that's what you're looking for.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Drug abuse