Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

57 reviews

parkerwkelly1's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape and Misogyny

Minor: Violence, Sexual violence, and Gore

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense 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

Theseus may be one of the most famous heroes of Greek mythology, but this retelling shows us Ariadne’s side of the story. 

Before reading Ariadne, I only knew of the titular character for her role in Theseus’ escape from the labyrinth. I was surprised by both the rest of Ariadne’s story and my ignorance of it; the twists and turns—especially Ariadne’s eventual marriage—make for a dramatic story.

The Olympians are usually so cruel and capricious, both so much more and so much less than human. So it was interesting to see Dionysus, the god of wine and madness, no less, acting so compassionately to human women. And, though I was not surprised, his betrayal and the violence he used in pursuit of more power was a disappointment.

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe of the ending):

Not happy at all. Even though the ending is tragic, it feels inevitable, which tempers the sadness somewhat.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Gore, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, War, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Self harm, Violence, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Religious bigotry, and Sexual violence

oliverlang's review against another edition

mysterious 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Violence

courtneyfalling's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

4.0

This was so good as a myth retelling and as a contemporary feminist novel but oof this left me with absolutely no faith in humanity. TL;DR even nice guys commit war crimes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Misogyny, Suicide, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual violence, and Child death

Minor: Alcoholism and Death of parent

smallcasualbooktok's review against another edition

adventurous reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

really beautiful story. the writing was mostly really beautiful although some of the dialogue and prose was a little bit too modern and took me out of the setting of ancient greece. all in all, i love greek retellings where the untold story of the women in the myths are at the center of the story. i felt the thesis and morals of the story were a little bit more disjointed and less clear than Circe by madeline miller. But i did enjoy the povs and switch to alternating povs and i thought the plot was very well thought out, if a little slow going at first. If you are a fan of circe or the penelopiad, then this should go on your tbr as another well written book of that ilk!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Gore, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

beccacm202's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Abandonment

bugthebard's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Child death, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

apworden's review against another edition

adventurous sad slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Child death

papercraftalex's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense 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

3.5

The writing in this book is great, but the plot's scope is too wide. There was no catharsis, no climax, it felt more like a collection of stories than one cohesive novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence

ashleycmms's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Animal death, Blood, Violence, Death, Child death, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Suicide, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Gaslighting, and Sexism

Minor: Vomit and Rape