Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

55 reviews

vigil's review against another edition

this book isn’t bad in the slightest, and i didn’t even dislike it. i just wasn’t  invested. usually for books i dnf they’re things that i actively dread reading but that wasn’t the case for this, because the second i stopped reading it i forgot about it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault

nicnevin's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This story is capitivating, almost as if by magic. 

That tasteless joke aside, its a beautiful piece showing how minor quibbles can lead to such devestating consequences. 

The relationships and social connections throughout are stitched together with a raw, real intensity. Its beautiful. 

A warning though, it can be intense so just a heads up! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Classism, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Misogyny, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Ableism, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Violence, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Torture

mapscitiesandsongs'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? No

4.5

This was easily one of the most bleak, depressing and aggravating books I've ever had the pleasure to read. 

I literally had to put the book down a few times because I couldn't handle it any longer. Nevertheless I quite enjoyed it, if you can call it that. The writing is beautiful and atmospheric. I was instantly transported into the rough and bleak landscape of Northern Norway. The characters are all well-written. This is especially true for the two main characters Ursa and Maren, but also for the kirke women in  Vardø. I wanted to jump into the book and strangle all of them. An author has to be very good in their craft for me to actually want to do that.  Loved the LGBTQIA+ aspect of the story.  I also found the ending quite fitting for such a bleak book.  A happy ending wouldn't have made sense and I appreciate the author for choosing the most realistic outcome. 

I can highly recommend the audiobook, which is read by Jessie Buckley. The way she pronounced all the Norwegian names and words really drew me into the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Violence, Colonisation, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Torture

Minor: Alcohol, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Infertility, and Infidelity

mturner1334's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Racism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Animal death

ptolemaea's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Racism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Miscarriage

mcdermott_af's review against another edition

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? N/A

4.0

I’m very glad that I finally picked this book up out of my to read pile. Prior to reading this, I had never heard of any witch trials in Norway. Despite knowing quite a lot about other, more well known, witch trials I was still shocked at how quickly the town changed. The book itself was beautifully written and each of the characters had flaws and a decent amount of depth. Like with many books though, I felt like the ending was lacking.

I wanted things to be wrapped up neatly. I wanted to know what happened to the main characters after the trials. I wanted to know if they lived or died. If they found happiness despite the hell they had witnessed. Alas, the story was left open ended which is the only reason it does not get 5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Religious bigotry, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death of parent, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexism

Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, and Torture

lucyselim's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

This was truly a case of 'it's not you, it's me'

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Sexism, Death, Hate crime, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, and Xenophobia

foxonabook's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.0

The thing about historical fiction based on real events and real people is that it's easy to glamorize events that are objectively awful. It's why I haven't read any of those 'The So-and-So's of Auswitz' books.

When it comes to the many witch hunts and witch trials throughout history, I feel the same way. As a general rule, women are often a footnote in history, and many women's names and stories have been lost to us as a result of these witch hunts. This is why any book attempting to tell those stories has to, in my opinion, strike the right balance between the history and fiction elements. I think the author succeeds in finding that balance in this story of a small, remote Norwegian island and the struggle that its women faced after a devastating storm that killed the majority of the island's menfolk.

This is a story about survival, community, and love. The characters, who were inspired by the women of Vardo, feel lifelike. You can't resist empathising with the characters -even the less likable ones- as they navigate after the storm and come to terms with how Absalom will further disrupt life on the island.

I enjoyed getting to know Maren, Ursa, and the other women of Vardo, and I thought the writing was compelling. However, the ending was disappointing and could have been stronger. Without giving anything away, I think the ending could have better honoured the underlying theme of women's resilience and independence a lot better. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Grief, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

charla_t's review

challenging emotional 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

lkbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Torture

Moderate: Death of parent, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Outing, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Body shaming