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A review by christinefitz
The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
- 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
3.5
I loved the queernormative world; there's such a diversity of gender and sexuality representation and while a character does struggle with dysphoria, queerphobia isn't the primary theme which is nice to see. There is, however, a lot of violence and dead people and dead animals and blood and xenophobia. So it's not exactly a conflict-free cozy fantasy. The primary focus is on the restricted use of blood magic, which opens the door for a bit of a mystery. I loved the mystery, but wasn't a huge fan of the blood magic device.
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Hate crime, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Dysphoria, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Genocide, Gore, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Racial slurs, and Fire/Fire injury