Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

124 reviews

michaelion's review against another edition

funny inspiring sad 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

4.0

So very funny. iIhad a grand time with this council of queens. I only watched season 1 of Good Girls but the similarities, women who are underestimated! Don't ever underestimate a bad bitch!

If I had a nickel for every time I read a book by a Desi female author who’s also a lawyer I’d have THREE nickels. All this year! How weird is that! Desi women leave some talent for the rest of us!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, and Racism

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, and Suicidal thoughts

amanda_reads89's review

challenging hopeful informative inspiring 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? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

arnoles's review against another edition

dark funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

5.0

I absolutely LOVED this book and could barely put it down for about the last 2/3 of the story. I really liked the liberal use of dialogue, which felt so authentic and really fleshed out each character's unique personality and perspective. I cared about all the women so much by the end. it's a huge testament to the author's excellent writing that she was able to create so many vibrant, well developed characters and craft an action packed plot in just over 300 pages without anything feeling rushed or unearned. The subject matter of the book is very dark, but Schroff's writing is filled with humor and humanism. I genuinely laughed out loud throughout the book. I will be excitedly looking forward to this author's next publication!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infertility, Pedophilia, Suicide, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, and Death of parent

mximlay's review

challenging dark funny inspiring 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

madihancock's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring 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? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Infertility, and Pedophilia

sarahalesbrittain's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Rape

Moderate: Gun violence and Murder

siob___'s review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Gun violence

rachaelcandoit's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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

4.0

I really loved this book! I found Geeta to be incredibly charming. I loved watching her reform (and stumble through) relationships as an adult. 

I also loved the story of Phoolan, I think it really added a proper weight to everything. A real figure who's story is so incredible. I loved learning about her. 

I also thought this book was really funny! Although it covers many heavy topics the banter and antics between the characters felt so real to me and had me laughing a couple times. 

I think the messaging of this story was also really great. I do wish -minor spoiler ahead - that I had known about the attempted assault scene. This is my own fault, and if I'd known going into it, it wouldn't have been as big of a deal. 

The only thing that bothered me slightly was the miscommunication. It only happens a couple of times and they are handled well I just didn't think they were necessary. It's also just not something I love in my media. Otherwise everything else was really great!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment

radhikag's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

Such a treat! Had the chance to hear the author speak in early 2023 but didn’t actually get to start reading this until this year. It also coincided with me visiting India (family wedding) for the first time in six years. For reasons I don’t want to + won’t get into during a book review, the authors note at the end around Phoolan Devi and honouring her were resonant for me. The questions that came up, all there is to consider. And as a survivor of SV & that so much of my work is focused on anti GBV support n stuff idk! n the DV prevalent in the lives of my loved ones too idk this just felt so so close to home 

And it was satisfying to see the women take agency & come together in that way. I appreciate this as a story of friendship & feminism and maybe it’s just because of what came up for and what all of these stories meant to me but I loved this. I want to read more of the authors work :’) and im so happy for Geeta & Saloni and Geeta’s new fridge! <3 

Also the revelations with Geeta & Saloni about Geeta’s parents + her marriage? my tender heart! :-( ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

Loved this book so very much! I think I have some questions around some of the themes (eg. Fatphobia) and their purpose? Some of the casteist or misogynistic language, even the anti SWer/whorephobia (halkat randi over n over again lol) felt more clearly like it was known to be bad + used to show the bigotry and evil of the characters in question. The fat phobia was …not this, or not as clearly. There’s just a lot of questions there & for someone who seems to be aware of other systemic harm, it is strange to not understand fatphobia a) as harmful but b) as intertwined with the other harms she notes (eg. sexism, GBV, casteism & colourism, etc.) ….much to think about. 

but yeah the “she decided” part really really did something for me! almost made this 5 stars for me for that alone lol 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Violence, and Blood

itsredandread's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Gaslighting

Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Slavery, and Religious bigotry