Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Blood & Sugar by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

10 reviews

sandysmith's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad 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

4.25

It's an excellent if harrowing read. Historical fiction at its finest concentrating on the murder of Tad Archer and his friend Captain Henry (Harry) Corsham investigating what happened. The murder whilst gripping was a side story to the slave trade and the goings on of the 18th century. Very evocative, brilliantly written, and you could smell the unpleasant smells of London and particularly the slave ships in Deptford. Bringing into focus the bribery and corruption of the time at all levels of society. Racism, child abuse, classism and homophobia are explored. There are particularly unpleasant characters, with very few nicer characters that made you back Harry throughout his exploration of the murder of his friend. It was interesting, and in particular, the British involvement of the slave trade is laid unpleasantly bare. It packs its punches. Superbly researched and written, an investigation of a murder not for the faint-hearted. Excellent stuff

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

snakeling's review

challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, and Murder

Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence

Minor: Child abuse

ronanmcd's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

An exciting, tense look at a reproduction of the massacre that turned public opinion in the UK against slavery. It does a good job of looking at the various viewpoints around the trade and the massive trauma it induced.
Use of the n-word by the less savoury characters, and the drawing a line on racism at the time of abolition aside, the book tells a good story but very much from a white saviour viewpoint. That the hero is a man of the crown underpins this. Nonetheless, it's very entertaining, evocative and in its way informative.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Murder, Outing, and Colonisation

carysn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Violence, Blood, Vomit, and War

khall123's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Trafficking

lostingothicmusic's review

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, and Colonisation

A difficult book to read.

shelfofunread's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Torture, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, and War

marvel_and_mischief's review

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.0

The pace is slow in parts and sometimes I felt there were a few too many characters to keep track of. But the historical context of the book is fascinating and grim, and the characters with the largest roles (Cinnamon, Jamaica Mary, Brabazon, Scipio) kept me hooked until the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

hannahrhian's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

meiyee's review

challenging dark mysterious tense

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

3.5

i really enjoyed this book but the ending left me a bit cold - the murderer's motive was a bit lacking and i found the last few chapters confusing. however, the writing and descriptions of deptford and london were brilliant. be aware of a lot of use of racial slurs and racist language.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence