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soniajoy98's review
- 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
spoiler-ish stuff below and a reminder: trigger warning !!
Roma referring to her body as her shell broke me a little bit, and i spent the entire book just praying that nobody hurt her again and we got SO CLOSE but then everything with Chirag happened (i can’t even think about him right now without wanting to burst into tears for how awful his life ended and how he deserved so much more) and Roma is back in that dark place but it’s worse and she’s so deeply traumatized and the moments before her suicide attempt when she’s yelling at herself just made my entire body go cold. i started off interested in Levi and i’m still interested but i couldn’t care about him when Roma was suffering i needed to know she would be okay. i’m still in shock from this book and can’t write much more rambling nonsense but i want to make it clear i loved reading this even when it made me sob and have a mini breakdown it’s amazingly well written and the perspective of Roma is so wonderful and terrible and incredible all at once. especially reading this today after the mass shooting committed against 8 Asian women in Atlanta, this book filled with the lasting effects of violence against Asian and Middle Eastern women, but also the strength of those women and their incredible ability to survive was really powerful to read. rest in power to those taken from us too soon by racism and sexism, you deserved so much more and we will fight for you
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, and Medical trauma
natnoble66693's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation
morganphoenix's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Death of parent
lhleonard's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment
miyaosamu's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was an absolutely exhilarating read that I could not put down, definitely an unexpected book that consumed me from beginning to end. The Descent of the Drowned is a tough read to stomach for sure, the author includes trigger warnings before the start of story. Saying one of the 2 mains, Roma goes through a lot is an understatement, her character is a product of the system of child prostitution and slavery being brainwashed that it is their divine duty since birth, yet Roma is the only one out of all her sisters in the system that doubts and she is just so profoundly fierce unnerving but my heart breaks once the reader learns more of her trauma and her mental headspace. On top of the topics I just mentioned this book also includes torture, multiple accounts of rape, violent assault, mutilation, emotional abuse and manipulation and more. The world building was enthralling along with the complex social hierarchy and magic systems along how mythology was intertwined with it all. The pre-Islamic Arabian mythology was so intriguing with how Lal din wrote it into villagers daily lives and majority depending on it. Also the dual perspectives, wow there is nothing more satisfying to me than dual povs that are done so well especially with letting us into the deeper minds and thoughts of both mains. Levi, the male main, both him and Roma being counterparts yet both so morally grey, in conflict with themselves, and suffering through traumas similar in nature with how it led to the person they have become and deeply burying their overwhelming amount of pain and emotions they don't want to process. I just love them both so much. Levi being a complex character who feels too much, love and pain and more, with his childhood of love and kind hearted soul yet forced to endure military training and become a ruthless unfeeling soldier on the surface level. Both characters' inner monologues were captivating and hard hitting in feeling every single emotion and vulnerability that runs through them. A lot of the revelations were surprising yet unsurprising to me as I expected this with looking forward to how it's going to be explored in the next book. Gah I just find myself so easily emotionally attached to morally gray characters who have so much more to unpack within themselves. After that ending, I'm highly anticipated and 2022 cannot come sooner!
arc provided by publisher via netgalley
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
gigireadseverything's review
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
Trigger warnings include, but certainly aren’t limited to, rape, child abuse, sexual slavery, trafficking, violence, murder, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, and drug use.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder