Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

The Count of Monte Cristo (AmazonClassics Edition) by Alexandre Dumas

17 reviews

nolemdaer's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

I have to come to this review with shame, because this was supposed to be my Summer of Monte Cristo where I read three chapters a day and ended up being my Month of Monte Cristo where I got too sucked in, stopped pacing myself, and finished the back half of the book in about two days. But it just goes to show how fun this is read! The introduction goes into how Monte Cristo is often considered just an "entertainment" book rather than high literature, and while I must admit that the themes of revenge and the character arcs are not meticulously plotted nor particularly more artful than a well-done action movie, that doesn't make it any less worthy of a good read. I was completely in love with the story until about a fourth of the way through, where Edmond Dantès transforms into the cold, cruel Count of Monte Cristo, where we lagged a bit and the story became darker (I definitely could have done without that tragic bandit story or all the slavery). The Rome chapters are a drag all around, but once we returned to Paris, the drama and conniving were addictive to read and the revenge - if not sweet - compelling to watch. There's a lot of energy to the writing, so I have to give Buss props for the translation.

I consumed way too much of this book at once and there's just so much in it, so I'm not even sure what else to say. This is entertainment in its purest form. Long live the Morrels.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping and Slavery

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Sexual assault

brodi727's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

This book Oh my God many times I forgot I was in the real world I was so invested and I didn't even realize I had read 200 pages in one sitting

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide

Moderate: Child death, Slavery, Drug use, Alcohol, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, and Sexism

Minor: Racial slurs, Incest, Rape, Racism, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Infidelity

figsofpeach's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

Moderate: Murder, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Child death, Slavery, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Another book I wept while reading.  Towards the end, there were times I got chills as the long term plotting and manipulations came to fruition.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Confinement, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Torture, Ableism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, War, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Alcohol, Grief, Toxic relationship, Violence, Body shaming, Child death, Sexism, Stalking, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Toxic friendship

blattprinzessin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad medium-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

4.0

I could write a loooong review about this tome, but to keep it short: 
95% of the time you’ll have a great time following the story and characters and then Dumas drops something like the Count wanting to….. his own adoptive daughter, that he has cared for since she was a literal child. - and you don’t know what to make of it.
That left a sour taste in my mouth and prevents me from rating it 5 stars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Cultural appropriation, and Racial slurs

kmhst25's review against another edition

3.75

I bought a cheap copy of this book only to realize that it was actually an abridged version, just as I was about to start reading it. So I donated that copy and got a full-length version from the library. 

Now that I’ve read it, I rather wish I’d just stuck with the abridged one, because there’s an extremely entertaining tale in here, but it’s really bogged down by repetitiveness, objectionable (and generally completely unnecessary) comments and stories, wish fulfillment, and confusing passages that could be attributable to poor translation, poor writing, or purposeful use of contradictory language, but just aren’t explained enough to really make sense of. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Slavery, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Rape, and Sexism

punchmadethegz's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is very good, and interesting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol and Abandonment

Moderate: Death, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Torture, Suicide attempt, Hate crime, Suicide, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and Mental illness

Minor: Blood

seforana's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Suicide attempt, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death of parent, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Terminal illness, Violence, Child death, Drug use, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, and Death

romeroreads's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Chronic illness, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Racism, Murder, Child death, Classism, and Grief

dachre's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious slow-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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Drug use, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, Slavery, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Racism