Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Godshot by Chelsea Bieker

37 reviews

jleigh98's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful medium-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Pedophilia, and Religious bigotry

defeating_my_demons's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

Moderate: Pregnancy, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Death, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Animal death

aalfie's review

dark reflective 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

this book made me want to crawl out of my skin but i know i’ll be thinking about it for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Alcoholism, Vomit, Abandonment, Addiction, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Adult/minor relationship

sbauer2894's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Trafficking, Incest, Child abuse, Addiction, Sexual assault, Rape, and Pregnancy

sarahholliday's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad 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

4.25

Godshot is one of those books that I can't say I enjoyed...but it's stuck with me, and I that can be more meaningful in the long run when it comes to stories.

If I had to describe the story in a single word, it'd be: BLEAK. A relentless study in just how gross and awful humans can be, there's also the added weight of climate change, broken-down familial relationships, and an oppressive sense of hopelessness. 

But that might be why the ending (I won't spoil anything here, don't worry) is so beautiful. There are no "easy" answers or perfect happily-ever-afters, but there is hope. Bieker forces readers to sit in the truly miserable, to face the realities experienced by so many, in order to point out the ability of love, kindness, and beauty to exist in the most unlikely of places. There's no sentimentality in that idea, either. Just a simple yet deeply-rooted conviction that things can be truly awful and occasionally wonderful all at the same time. 

This is definitely not a book for everyone, but it'll go on my recommendation list nevertheless and I'll be waiting to run across the right reader.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Suicide, Alcohol, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Rape, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, and Gaslighting

gotabookforeverysituation's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Incest, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment

Moderate: Suicide, Child death, Death, Alcoholism, and Pregnancy

Minor: Car accident, Abortion, Confinement, Vomit, Bullying, and Blood

geminireader's review

dark emotional reflective slow-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

If you can stomach the content, it is a really brilliant read. The writing is so unique and the story is very bizarre and unlike anything I’ve ever read. Using the cult setting really tied to the themes well. Not a book I would ever recommend for its very disturbing content, but if you feel drawn to it, you will not regret this read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Addiction, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Infertility

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Abandonment

Minor: Suicide, Confinement, and Kidnapping

katealiss's review

dark hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Addiction, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Incest, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Abandonment, and Vomit

rachelleigh21's review

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Rape, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, and Pregnancy

jlboro's review

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.0

White Oleander meets Grapes of Wrath with a 21st Century cult twist. This is an incredibly challenging book. Don’t be fooled by the cover, this is not a glamorous or fluffy book. It’s hard to love this book, I don’t think I would use that word. But it challenged me to a degree I haven’t encountered in a long time. I laughed but my draw dropped just as often. 

There’s a great interview with the author on NPR’s All Things Considered (April 6, 2020) that I highly recommend checking out before reading. Great segment! 

 I wouldn’t be surprised if in 6+ months I consider this a 5 star bc I’m still thinking about the characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Death, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, and Rape