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A review by nerdatlas5
The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-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
4.25
No spoilers: however a small warning about potential triggers: there is instances of body dysmorphophobia, xenophobia, PTSD, and most notably it was very descriptive of gore. Like I felt a little queasy listening to it. I only noticed it twice towards the end, but because the book is centered around a healer attempting to cure an unknown illness, it is does deal a lot with the body anatomically throughout. I liked it, but if you're not comfortable with that this might not be the book for you.
With that aside, I really enjoyed this. I listened to it on audiobook and while at first I thought that this was just set up for a larger series with not a lot moving it forward plot wise, it proved me wrong. Firuz and the rest of the cast of characters were pretty well fleshed out. Since the first half of the book was setting up the conflicts of the latter half, we spent a lot of time in Firuz's head exploring the complex relationships between them and their brother, mentor, and the teen they start to teach blood magic to. Despite references to their mom, she is notably absent throughout the book, and considering there is established friction between them I would have liked to see mom more.
I also feel like the antagonist's reasons for doing what they did wasn't as thought out as I would have liked. Like there's a gap between the person they were before we knew their whole plan, and after it unravels, like they weren't the same person. It would have been nice to maybe have a moment or 2 of Firuz in a longer conversation with them, and perhaps that would have tied the motivation more clearly to the character better.
The setting was well developed too. The setting is inspired by the author's background, and you can see that in the world's treatment of refugees based on their ethnicity and the class struggles, yet it also still maintains its sense of fantasy through the magic system. I would be glad to see more from this world if the author continues with it.
I think the audiobook itself was good; I've learned that I can only listen to audiobooks in the car. Anywhere else and I get too distracted to pay attention lol.
With that aside, I really enjoyed this. I listened to it on audiobook and while at first I thought that this was just set up for a larger series with not a lot moving it forward plot wise, it proved me wrong. Firuz and the rest of the cast of characters were pretty well fleshed out. Since the first half of the book was setting up the conflicts of the latter half, we spent a lot of time in Firuz's head exploring the complex relationships between them and their brother, mentor, and the teen they start to teach blood magic to. Despite references to their mom, she is notably absent throughout the book, and considering there is established friction between them I would have liked to see mom more.
I also feel like the antagonist's reasons for doing what they did wasn't as thought out as I would have liked. Like there's a gap between the person they were before we knew their whole plan, and after it unravels, like they weren't the same person. It would have been nice to maybe have a moment or 2 of Firuz in a longer conversation with them, and perhaps that would have tied the motivation more clearly to the character better.
The setting was well developed too. The setting is inspired by the author's background, and you can see that in the world's treatment of refugees based on their ethnicity and the class struggles, yet it also still maintains its sense of fantasy through the magic system. I would be glad to see more from this world if the author continues with it.
I think the audiobook itself was good; I've learned that I can only listen to audiobooks in the car. Anywhere else and I get too distracted to pay attention lol.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Fire/Fire injury