Reviews with content warning for Miscarriage - The Villa

Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

katlynnnxo's review

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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ladylothlorien's review

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Really enjoyed this! I have a bad habit of starting books that I haven’t really properly read the blurb for and then being like “oh this is a ‘Mary Shelley writing Frankenstein’ retelling!” Then again it does add a level of delight to realize this as I’m reading so maybe it’s for the best? As with her Jane Eyre retelling, Hawkins isn’t slavishly devoted to the source material so she jumps in very interesting directions with this story. I do also have a weakness for historical fiction-type stories where someone in the present is connecting with someone from the past and both stories are unfolding together for the reader. I identified more with Emily I think than Mari but that’s more of my own personal experiences that were similar to Emily’s. Although I’ve never had a friend like Chess thank goodness.

once again though the ending is kind of throwing me off. Like of course killing Matt isn’t going to result in a breakup with Chess like Emily was hoping for in a mirror of what she thought happened with Mari and Lara. It’s just going to make Emily beholden to Chess forever since Chess knows this huge secret. I don’t really have a problem with that. I don’t really like the revelation that pretty much all of the Mari sections were fictionalized by Mari to make what happened more interesting. Maybe it’s less the betrayal of Emily who clearly used it as a blueprint for freedom and more the betrayal of me the reader. I’m sensitive to stories where the author (in this case Hawkins) deliberately lies about something without there being any indication of it that I can point to and go “oh I missed that hint!” <\spoiler>

So the ending ended up knocking off a star but I still overall enjoyed the book. And I’m really enjoying Hawkins’s penchant for these sort of literary retellings, so definitely going to read more by her.

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heypretty52's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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elzibub's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

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nykolereads's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

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hannah_and_her_stories's review

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dark mysterious 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

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mariavdl's review

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

A bit cringey.

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carissa230's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

2.5

Emily is down on her luck and gets the chance to go to Italy with her best friend Chess. Emily has just found out her husband cheated on her and is now suing her for rights to the money she made off her book series. Chess is an uber-successful author of self-help books. She has been on talk shows and is well known everywhere.

When they get to Italy it becomes clear that the girls are more frenemies than best friends. They have been friends forever, but there is an imbalance in the relationship. In Italy Emily is inspired to right a true crime book based off the house they're staying in. Chess is seeing some writers block and wants to hop on the book with Emily. Why Emily would even consider this is beyond me. What could she possibly need from Chess in this situation besides the fans she already has?

In the other (and far more interesting) storyline we have a group of famous musicians on a vacation. There are a lot of drugs used and a lot of fighting and jealousy. Mari and Lara are 16-year-old girls (16!) that are staying and partying with the rockstars. Maris is also compelled by the house to write a book. Lara wants to be a musician in her own right. While the rock stars party, the girls balance between trying to mend their fight and jealousy. Turns out both girls are in love with Pierce (I don't have any idea why, probably because they're 16).

The storyline of the fighting, jealousy, and drug-fueled parties was by far more entertaining to me. I think that can happen in books with multiple timelines. One is generally more entertaining. Obviously, the fact that both Emily and Chess want to write about the part makes it more interesting.

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