Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

44 reviews

orcarroll's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Minor: Alcoholism and Death

readwithria's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

The Night Circus intrigued me with its iconic opening line, and the rest of the story kept me going. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and completely understand why so many people love it.

The Night Circus flips back and forth between two main timelines and progresses through about 30 years of time. Erin Morgenstern is such a smart writer, she structured this novel so well and crafted so many lovely point-of-view characters. The book was very atmospheric, which was definitely its strong suit. I sometimes found myself wishing that I understood how the magic worked a little bit more, but I also felt like that air of mystery was intentional so I didn't mind that too much.

I think the biggest weak point was the relationship between Marco and Celia. I didn't find myself believing their feelings for each other amounted to love. When other people talked about them I could see it, but where they were together I didn't buy the romance. That didn't detract too much from the book, but I think that's what kept it from being a 5 star read for me.

All in all, this was a lovely book that I would definitely reread. 4 stars.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Death, and Emotional abuse

dxmy_png's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, and Alcoholism

uranaishi's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.75

March 5, 2012
March 26, 2014

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

Moderate: Blood, Body shaming, Confinement, Bullying, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Suicide, Death, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Car accident, Dementia, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Self harm

Minor: Sexual content, Animal death, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Sexism

becksusername's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

I see what all the hype was about, but it could've been shorter

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Physical abuse

bloodandpoppies's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Death, and Gaslighting

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Grief, and Murder

Don't let the content warnings scare you off-- this book is well worth reading (and re-reading).

richelleski's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

I really wanted to love these characters but they fell flat to me, even Celia, who we’ve now spent so much time with, feels unknowable. It’s more a feast for the imagination, with gratuitous  descriptions of each magical tent and the experience of taking in the circus, but even in the end, I feel disconnected from the characters. Perhaps that’s intentional? 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

Minor: Alcoholism and Death of parent

kelseydaffodil's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol and Alcoholism

Minor: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Suicide

paintedthree's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

Looking back I did enjoy this book, but it is incredibly slow going. I had to pause reading it several times as the plot did not go anywhere until the second half of the book. The ending is good though, it ties everything together and the story feels complete. Unsure whether it balances out the incredibly slow pace, however.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Abandonment

tahsintries's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Death of parent, Suicide, and Alcoholism