Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Conductors by Nicole Glover

5 reviews

crystalisreading's review

adventurous mysterious

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

A+ concept and ideas. I was so excited for this book, but the writing style didn't work for me. Listened to the audio and even Bahni Turpin couldn't save it for me.  the magic system was unique and creative but I couldn't find any consistent logic to it. The cast was delightfully black,  with the only named white character having a secret of her own.  Friendship was a huge part of the story, and I loved the inclusion of a queer couple.  So much to like.  I just wish I would have enjoyed it more overall.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Classism, Violence, War, Slavery, Murder, Gun violence, Death, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Medical content, Racism, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Death of parent, Sexism, Stalking, Infertility, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

karcitis's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious slow-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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Murder, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: War, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Blood, Addiction, Bullying, and Gore

Minor: Sexism, Miscarriage, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Infidelity, Infertility, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual violence, and Domestic abuse

owlstory's review

adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Death

Minor: Blood, Death, Murder, Rape, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, and Miscarriage

As the book's main character is a former slave and was a conductor on the Underground Railroad, any historical context, including the horrible ways enslaved people were treated, is included in this book. Generational trauma related to slavery is a theme from the book.

laurareads87's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• 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

4.0

I enjoyed The Conductors, Nicole Glover's debut novel following a married couple, Hetty and Benjy, former Underground Railroad conductors solving a mystery in post-Civil War Philadelphia.  I loved the contrasting magical systems in this book, particularly the celestial sigil-based magic utilized by Hetty, Benjy, and several other characters.  The inclusion of brief interludes which flash back to Hetty and Benjy's time working in the Underground Railroad were an effective way to include important background to the story, and I love Hetty as a character -- smart, determined, skilled, witty -- and can't wait to read more about her in future books.  I did find that the pacing was a bit inconsistent (a little bit of 'info dump' at the beginning explaining who's who before the plot really gets going), and a few of the red herrings along the way to solving the mystery weren't quite convincing; however, this was more than made up for by Glover's incredible character development and, even more specifically, relationship development.  Hetty and Benjy's relationship dynamic and their milieu felt very real to me, as the complicated relationships between the various secondary characters was really well established over the course of the novel.    

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Murder, Slavery, and Death

Moderate: Gun violence, Medical content, and Racial slurs

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, and Domestic abuse

nullandvoidlibrary's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Death, Violence, and Racism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Blood

Minor: Miscarriage and Infertility