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bone_empress's reviews
107 reviews
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Classism
Minor: Incest and Cultural appropriation
Ableism: there's an adult character that may have a developmental disability. People talk down to him and use disparaging words to describe him, and he is portrayed as being unintelligent. It's also heavily implied that he may have also been emotionally abused in the past and threatened with being institutionalized. The character is not present for most of the book.
Bullying and emotional abuse: one character is intentionally hurtful to the narrator, playing upon the narrator's fears and insecurities. The narrator's husband stonewalls her sometimes and the narrator is impacted negatively.
Cultural appropriation: Characters dress up in appropriated attire at an event. One is in brown face.
Incest: a secondary character had a consensual relationship with a non-immediate family member in the past. Not described in detail.
Suicide: a character is theorized to have successfully ended their life and the method is generally described but does not give violent details.
Suicidal thoughts (very mild spoiler, no names): a character tries to convince another character to jump out a window from which they would not survive the fall. No attempt is made.
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
"Red rarely sleeps, but when she does, she lies still, eyes closed in the dark, and lets herself see lapis, taste iris petals and ice, hear a blue jay's shriek. She collects blues and keeps them.
When she is sure no one is watching she rereads the letters she's carved into herself."
This story is achingly and devastatingly gorgeous. The writing is elegant and poignant and at times, startlingly funny. Much of the world feels abstract and complex, and I didn't need to fully understand it to get lost in Red and Blue's story. Love itself is both abstract and complex, and lives between strands- ephemeral and yet transcending time.
When she is sure no one is watching she rereads the letters she's carved into herself."
This story is achingly and devastatingly gorgeous. The writing is elegant and poignant and at times, startlingly funny. Much of the world feels abstract and complex, and I didn't need to fully understand it to get lost in Red and Blue's story. Love itself is both abstract and complex, and lives between strands- ephemeral and yet transcending time.
The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.5
Gallant by V.E. Schwab
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Suicide
The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
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
4.0
The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0