Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

3 reviews

e_riahh's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Classism, Sexual assault, Bullying, War, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Torture, Child death, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Xenophobia

Minor: Blood

ettegoom's review

adventurous hopeful fast-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

4.0

I liked the concept of how magic worked in this world, but ultimately felt that the section with witch and learning magic were a bit pointless. 

The witch was all about how  Flora had to unlock her power... like Flora had this huge important destiny, and then the only time she used it was to travel to the ship...

. It was interesting at the time, but really didn't need to be there? 
The author laid the whole: colonialism is bad, and gender diversity should be normal on pretty thickly. I still enjoyed it though, and found myself rooting for several of the characters. 
A nice book for teens.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Animal death, Addiction, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Classism, Alcoholism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Rape

lilacs_book_bower's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

Blurb: "In a world divided by colonialism and threaded with magic, a desperate orphan turned pirate and a rebellious imperial lady find a connection on the high seas."  Very mixed feelings about this one.  There is great LGBTQ rep, and the two leads are POC characters, and I appreciated the discussions and seeing the effects of colonization by the Empire.  The Witch had some great stories.  The world building left a lot to be desired, but there were some cool elements and ideas.  
Other than that, I didn't like most of the characters, and didn't even care about the two leads especially.  They fall in love very quickly.  This book is dark, please check the CW.  CW:

even off-page, I don't want to read about child rape.

There are a few plot holes.  There are two endings and I didn't appreciate either of them.  I get what the author is going for

with Evelyn and Florian, it's their reward and they get to be together, but it didn't feel like Florian really has atoned enough to earn that, and "they both turn into mermaids' fits with the magic of the book, but also feels like a story a five year old would tell.

.  The second ending is about a character that I didn't like, so I didn't care about what happens to them, even though, again, I feel like I understand what the author is going for.  
If you like fantasy, especially with good LGBTQ rep, and like stories on the darker side, I would give this one a try.  In spite of the mixed bag of reactions, I would read another from this author.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Child abuse, Classism, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Cursing, Gore, Blood, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Abandonment, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Rape