Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

5 reviews

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

If you're looking for a dark, witchy sci-fi fantasy centering a strong female protagonist, this might be a pick for you! I enjoyed it but I didn't love it. A few things didn't work for me, especially every characters' insistence that words without set meaning definitely have this one specific random interpretation that doesn't make a ton of sense. That part was just frustrating and was a major plot element. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Gore, Slavery, Racism, Transphobia, Murder, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Blood, Violence, Grief, and Torture

Moderate: Eating disorder

annorabrady's review

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

The magic system is interesting and well designed, though I won't lie and say it was particularly nice to read of some of the uses.

Especially in instances where blood mixee on open wounds or when Voya poured the blood into her eyes. The first drew me out of the story with thoughts of bloodborne illnesses and the latter triggering thosd thoughts AND completely grossed me out.

 

I understand and appreciate the resolution, and the point of the challenge. Though I feel angry about how the story wrapped up because Keis deserved betted.

I kept waiting for Voya to realize that self sacrifice was an option, or that revealing the truth to Luc about Justin was also an option. Also, binding Keis to the house with no contract with the outside world was especially cruel and selfish – the opposite of what she claims to be her goal. Hell, bringing down Justin would have succeeded in destroying both Keis and Luc while better appealing to the goal of helping everyone.

The ending is why I can't rate this higher. Though it's not bad enough for me to rate this lower. 

I do greatly appreciate the representation of various minority groups in this story, as well as the social commentaries on racism, colonialism, slavery, generational trauma, family dynamics, communities, dependencies on technologies, etc at various points in history. It's both timely and timeless. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Grief, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child abuse, Mental illness, Police brutality, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Confinement, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, and Medical content

librarybookscene's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Racism, Classism, and Slavery

Moderate: Death, Stalking, and Murder

Minor: Medical trauma, Outing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Kidnapping, Transphobia, and Cancer

prairieraven's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence

quejk25's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Racism, Slavery, and Torture

Moderate: Abandonment, Classism, Death, Death of parent, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Dysphoria, Gun violence, Hate crime, Outing, Transphobia, and Violence