Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller

2 reviews

neighborhoodbeanreads's review against another edition

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

4.0

Rep: This book had some of the best gender-fluid representation, and and amazing job incorporating discussions on pronouns in fantasy, in a way I have not seen in other books that try to convey gender-fluid/NB characters. I also really enjoy that there is no eluding to the character's assigned sex at birth, this really helps to force the reader into seeing this person in the way should be-- as gender-fluid. It was great to see how the authors handled having a character that was gender-fluid that used multiple pronouns. 

Plot: I thought the plot of this book was well-thought out and had the right amount of twists/turns, I think the pacing could have been a bit better-- it was pretty slow in the beginning and shot-up fairly quickly. I'm excited to read the sequel!

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foreverinastory's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.0

Reread for the November #WickAndJaneBookClub Feral Queers on Instagram.

Such a fun reread!!

Rep: Genderfluid white MC, white noble bisexual female love interest, various BIPOC side characters.

CWs: Blood, death, dysphoria, genocide, grief, injury/injury detail, misgendering, murder, violence, war.
 
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3.5/5 

I enjoyed this but was kind of bored with some parts of it. Our MC, Sallot Leon, is a gender fluid thief, that auditions to become Opal, one of the queens assassins. It was quite a leap to see Sal being a thief to then trying to become an assassin, especially since at the beginning, they explain their hesitancy to kill. However, Sal seems to get over that pretty quickly.

The trials that Sal goes through were interesting, but also slightly predictable since everyone is trying to off the other competitors. What helped liven this part up was Sal's lessons with Elise, the lady she stole from to get invited to the competition. I loved their lessons together, and the romance that eventually blossomed between these two. I need more lgbt+ relationships like this. 

One other thing I would've liked to have known more about would've be the world itself. Mask of Shadows is set in a world where magic and its dangerous shadows have been abolished by the Queen. However, threats of the shadows pose a danger to the Queen's reign. I would've liked to know more about the magic system that was in place, how the Queen banished it and how/why the shadows existed. They seemed pretty monstrous and it would've be a cool facet to expand upon.

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