Reviews

Blood & Sugar by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

emreads8's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

meedlepea's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

ldsreadinglife's review

It did not hook me and I found the audio book narrator irritating 

testaroscia's review against another edition

4.0

The ugliness of the Slave Trade in the US is very adequately discussed. The same for the UK is less well so. It did not occur on British soil, hence the less we say about it the better. But the English were just as complicit in the horrors, and just because it happened "in the colonies" is no reason for it being glossed over. This is a book of Historical Fiction, but like all good historical fiction that i love it helps educate and inform me of things I did not know, and will spur me to learn more.

trin's review against another edition

2.0

Fairly pedestrian historical crime thriller, in the mode of The Alienist, in which a white man learns that Slavery Is Bad.

There are some interesting side characters, but I found the narrator's voice -- and, frankly, almost everything about him -- rather bland. The book exposes some of the horrors of the 18th Century British slave trade, but the mystery plot is convoluted and more than a little bloated.

And then, rather to my disgust, the murderer turns out to be

Spoiler

one of the few black characters. Because his experiences of slavery "broke him."

uh...

That's a...choice.

A shitty choice.

And then Boring White Narrator kills him by strangling him with a chain.

Gross. That's pretty fucking gross, author! Did no one think about this for even two seconds?

The overall message of the book--Slavery Is Bad and Evil White Men Go Unpunished--is a hard one to argue with, but I have to take issue with the grace and thoughtfulness with which it is conveyed here.

glennrey's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

4.0

mollyhyland's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

5.0

zoefruitcake's review against another edition

3.0

3.5
I was completely sucked into this rich and vibrant world but half way through it felt like it was ready to finish soon. Once I had that feeling it was a drag to stick with it to discover who dunnit

snakeling's review

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Slavery, Murder, and Torture

Moderate: Sexual violence and Rape

Minor: Child abuse

motherofladybirds's review against another edition

4.0

18th century murder mystery in gritty London dockyards involving slavery and skullduggery. Likeable characters. I hope it is the start of a series.