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navayiota's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I originally saved this cause it was recommended by Leena Norms for spooky October novels, and spooky it was, although not in the way I had expected. I ended up picking it up cause it was narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, and I really enjoyed her previous work narrating Kate Quinn novels. I didn't expect it to stay with me the way it did. I am in shock. Visceral is the perfect way to describe this writing. McConaghy got me to feel every light touch and savage hit taken by the characters. She tied every aspect of the story up in a neat bow that lovingly punched me in the gut at every opportunity. I refuse to believe that a human can write like this, and yet it's so painfully obvious that a human wrote it, because what other species could describe the human experience in such a vivid way? My heart aches for these characters, who are painfully fleshed out with all their jagged edges and ugly sides. I wish more people read this book. I can't wait to read more but must stop myself from binging anything else she has written cause it just wouldn't be enough. May her fingers never tire of typing or holding a pen, may her mind never cease creating and may her soul experience every joy the world has to offer. Simply incredible.
I can't believe that I finally encountered a book where the pregnancy trope is treated with justice and respect. I was in awe at the mastery with which she ended the story, the way she made it all make sense. Every major or subplot is a full circle and that feels incredible to me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Suicide, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Dementia, Confinement, and Child abuse
Minor: Drug abuse
kponturo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Murder, Violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Gore, and Grief
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Suicide
j1legend's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Rape, Animal death, Violence, and Blood
froon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Animal death, and Gore
Minor: Suicide
marsspider42's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
4.5
This book is well written thriller with a side platter of climate activism. I don’t usually read mysteries, but Charlotte McConaghy’s beautiful prose and skillful manipulation of flashbacks, first person perspective and the reader’s assumptions makes for a fantastic book. I really enjoyed this book, and I think McConaghy is an author I would seek out again just to be enveloped so wholely into a story once more.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in nature, character studies, and mystery. Definitely check the content warnings.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in nature, character studies, and mystery. Definitely check the content warnings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Rape, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Animal death, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide, Vomit, Pregnancy, Stalking, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
alexandrathegreat89's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
medium-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
3.0
I went into this book thinking it would be a moody murder mystery that explored the tensions that arise between conservation efforts and traditional/longstanding ways of living in Scotland. It was not.
This was more an exploration of the capacity have have to be awful one another with a heavy focus on the abuse women face at the hands of theen supposed to love them the most.
Having previously lived in Scotland I was hoping to feel a sense of the beauty and wildness of that country while reading this, but it just wasn't there for me.
That being said, the writing was compelling and despite wanting to look away I was invested in finding out how it all ended to finish the book. Some of the tropes at the very end to be a bit disjointed and the last 30 pages or so felt like I was ready a completely different book.
This was more an exploration of the capacity have have to be awful one another with a heavy focus on the abuse women face at the hands of theen supposed to love them the most.
Having previously lived in Scotland I was hoping to feel a sense of the beauty and wildness of that country while reading this, but it just wasn't there for me.
That being said, the writing was compelling and despite wanting to look away I was invested in finding out how it all ended to finish the book. Some of the tropes at the very end to be a bit disjointed and the last 30 pages or so felt like I was ready a completely different book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Suicide, Animal death, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Dementia, and Grief
lauramcc7's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Cursing, Alcohol, Suicide, Pregnancy, Blood, Vomit, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Infidelity, Grief, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, Rape, Mental illness, and Death of parent
rosierosereads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Animal death
Moderate: Blood, Mental illness, Murder, and Pregnancy
dustghosts's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
2.75
+ Beautifully written; McConaghy knows how to construct gorgeous, evocative sentences and scenes. I think this shines the most in her nature writing and an awe towards that subject resonates. There’s a lot of tenderness towards people and humans alike. The ending aside, the majority of the book struck emotionally true, even if not always relatable and often? Messy.
o An interesting and complicated array of characters who feel frustratingly human, though not necessarily… like “rational” humans. Despite not necessarily liking them, I found most of the people here to be engaging, and I think the mystery/thriller aspect of the story worked well because of this.
- Themes are muddy at best and troubling at the least favorable. This book covers a lot of ground (domestic abuse, the gray areas of morality, the human-animal conflict inherent in rewilding/conservation, codependency and shared-but-not trauma, the echoes of inaction, and so on) and doesn’t really strike true on most of them. A book doesn’t have to have a clear thesis but you could feel this one trying to get to it— there’s moralizing but no moral.
- While domestic and sexual violence are definitely key themes, the most direct victims of it are sidelined and written out of the story. It’s troubling to me to see Aggie and Lanie disappear from the narrative (one very literally) and for the arguable two main characters (and love interests) to be the two people cast as their could-be (but failed?) saviors.
o An interesting and complicated array of characters who feel frustratingly human, though not necessarily… like “rational” humans. Despite not necessarily liking them, I found most of the people here to be engaging, and I think the mystery/thriller aspect of the story worked well because of this.
- Themes are muddy at best and troubling at the least favorable. This book covers a lot of ground (domestic abuse, the gray areas of morality, the human-animal conflict inherent in rewilding/conservation, codependency and shared-but-not trauma, the echoes of inaction, and so on) and doesn’t really strike true on most of them. A book doesn’t have to have a clear thesis but you could feel this one trying to get to it— there’s moralizing but no moral.
- While domestic and sexual violence are definitely key themes, the most direct victims of it are sidelined and written out of the story. It’s troubling to me to see Aggie and Lanie disappear from the narrative (one very literally) and for the arguable two main characters (and love interests) to be the two people cast as their could-be (but failed?) saviors.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, and Violence
Moderate: Dementia, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Gore, and Murder
Minor: Suicide
jcstokes95's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I feel like this is the novel that flew too close to the sun. Charlotte McConaghy’s second novel is full of beautiful lines; my copy is covered in excessive underlines. There is no doubt in my mind that this author can write evocative prose. So many arresting phrases, however, when it comes to structuring the action of the novel, Once There Were Wolves became incredibly muddled for me.
We follow Inti and her sister, Aggie, in the present day, Inti is rewilding Scotland with native Grey Wolves. When a man turns up dead, her beloved wolves are suspect number one for the townsfolk, but eventually, her actual lover becomes suspect number one in her head. This makes this book a very confusing combination of romance, mystery, thriller and climate fiction. In addition to that, we get flashbacks to the sister’s childhood with a mentally ill father and then a separate flashback timeline to their life in Alaska where a terrible, awful thing happened to Aggie, the trauma of which both sisters are reeling from.
So, that is…a lot to put in a two hundred and fifty page book. I think this is the crux of the problem. McConaghy wants to do so much but sacrifices a lot of depth for breadth. For this reason, I spent a lot of time feeling like there was supposed to be a “moral” but never getting a clear message between all the constant movement.
I applaud the ambition, she is tackling supremely interesting themes. I wanted her to land them because her writing piqued my interest. But that doesn’t make it any clearer to me what the message was. Characters often repeat that humans need to “rewild” themselves. But I was unclear on what that meant. Duncan rails against seeing abusive men as powerful monsters, but instead as just men. This is a good sentiment, but none of these men every seem to be held to task by the people who share this view in the story. Inti sings the praises of predators in the ecosystem, and I’m sure we’re supposed to make some connection between the wolves and the human predators of the novel. But that’s made muddy also. I just could never get clear on the message.
This was a book club read, and my friends pointed out that the victims of domestic violence in this story lack a lot of agency and there is a lot of “savior” behavior that actually endangers them, particularly from Inti. In the end, one of these women is killed by a spouse, one’s spouse is murdered, and one kills herself. It’s a pretty…bleak message for victims.
All of this taken in mind, I was ready to give this book a passable, respectable rating until I read the last 12 pages. Never have I been so enraged by an ending. If this is a twist, it’s piss poor and pointless. Worse yet, the acceptance of all characters of the fact leaves the story feeling like it never had any stakes whatsoever. The tension which was, actually quite effectively created, drifts away like it was a mirage the whole time.Like murdering someone in this town was actually never a big deal. Plus, the lack of any conclusion or consequence makes it feel like the author has handed you a big mess and said, ‘hey, you figure it out’. Particularly frustrating because so much of this book has incredible potential, and I would certainly read from this writer again once she has tightened a bit of her themes up.
We follow Inti and her sister, Aggie, in the present day, Inti is rewilding Scotland with native Grey Wolves. When a man turns up dead, her beloved wolves are suspect number one for the townsfolk, but eventually, her actual lover becomes suspect number one in her head. This makes this book a very confusing combination of romance, mystery, thriller and climate fiction. In addition to that, we get flashbacks to the sister’s childhood with a mentally ill father and then a separate flashback timeline to their life in Alaska where a terrible, awful thing happened to Aggie, the trauma of which both sisters are reeling from.
So, that is…a lot to put in a two hundred and fifty page book. I think this is the crux of the problem. McConaghy wants to do so much but sacrifices a lot of depth for breadth. For this reason, I spent a lot of time feeling like there was supposed to be a “moral” but never getting a clear message between all the constant movement.
I applaud the ambition, she is tackling supremely interesting themes. I wanted her to land them because her writing piqued my interest. But that doesn’t make it any clearer to me what the message was. Characters often repeat that humans need to “rewild” themselves. But I was unclear on what that meant. Duncan rails against seeing abusive men as powerful monsters, but instead as just men. This is a good sentiment, but none of these men every seem to be held to task by the people who share this view in the story. Inti sings the praises of predators in the ecosystem, and I’m sure we’re supposed to make some connection between the wolves and the human predators of the novel. But that’s made muddy also. I just could never get clear on the message.
This was a book club read, and my friends pointed out that the victims of domestic violence in this story lack a lot of agency and there is a lot of “savior” behavior that actually endangers them, particularly from Inti.
All of this taken in mind, I was ready to give this book a passable, respectable rating until I read the last 12 pages. Never have I been so enraged by an ending. If this is a twist, it’s piss poor and pointless. Worse yet, the acceptance of all characters of the fact leaves the story feeling like it never had any stakes whatsoever. The tension which was, actually quite effectively created, drifts away like it was a mirage the whole time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Animal death
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Suicide