Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

10 reviews

pkc's review against another edition

dark tense 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

5.0

This book was just insanely good. I really enjoyed Wolf Hall, but found it especially challenging. It takes a great author to hear those critiques and very subtly tweak their prose so that the critiques are addressed but the tone and timbre remain unaffected. Cromwell is such a brilliantly written baddie, but Mantel never seeks to make him look truly wicked. In fact, he’s so cunning that sometimes, I was inexplicably coming around to his way of thinking before giving myself a shake. Mantel’s command of language brings unconventional beauty to some truly dark moments and I can’t praise this book highly enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Cancer, Torture, Gaslighting, Death, Confinement, Blood, Child death, Incest, Terminal illness, Murder, and Sexual content

bfab18's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Blood, Misogyny, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, Death, Confinement, Gore, Murder, Infertility, and Cursing

Minor: Pedophilia

naomi_k's review against another edition

dark informative tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Death, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pregnancy, Cursing, and Infertility

Minor: Sexual content, Confinement, and Classism

brekas91's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Classism, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement and Cancer

queerloras's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Blood, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Classism, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Torture, Alcoholism, Violence, Death, Infertility, and Murder

Minor: Abandonment, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Incest, and Toxic relationship

jhbandcats's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense slow-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

The second entry in Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell trilogy is just as good as the first. As King Henry VIII grows increasingly enamored of Jane Seymour, Cromwell is charged with getting Queen Anne Boleyn out of the way so Jane can become Henry’s third queen. Cromwell’s in a difficult spot - the political machinations of the various factions around Henry mean he’s always watching his step. He has no true friend, just people who want to use him or stay out of his clutches, so if he’s not careful, Cromwell could fall as quickly as Anne’s admirers. 

As before, the writing is exquisite. It’s a bit challenging - there aren’t always quotation marks and it’s difficult to tell who is saying what - but once the rhythm settles in it flows smoothly. Mantel’s sardonic wit is as caustic as ever; she describes Anne Boleyn’s uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, as looking “like a piece of rope chewed by a dog, or a piece of gristle left on the side of a trencher.”

Wolf Hall is one of my favorite all-time books, and Bring Up the Bodies is a worthy sequel. I’m now hoping to finish the trilogy with the 800+ page The Mirror and the Light. Mantel is just an extraordinary writer. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Blood, Classism, Confinement, Death, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, and Pregnancy

tmickey's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Murder, Miscarriage, Animal death, Sexual content, Grief, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicide and Blood

malloryfitz's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Sexism

Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Sexual content, Torture, and Blood

katherine_ridley's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective 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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, and Misogyny

Minor: Chronic illness, Grief, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide

caidyn's review against another edition

dark reflective tense 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

4.5

4.5/5


Oh, this book. I like it a lot better than the first one. I think the writing is easier to read and it's just easier to understand all in all. This book doesn't cover a huge span of time like the first one does. It's all about the fall of the Boleyns and the rise of Cromwell. So, it's very focused and I enjoyed it. There was so much more heart to it and I can feel how much Mantel put into the book. She says she wants to dig Cromwell out, since he's such an illusive figure, and I do feel that she did a great job at it.

The book does rely on some tired tropes. Like Jane Boleyn's relationship with her husband, George. I loved that Mantel included [b:Jane Boleyn: The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford|1206219|Jane Boleyn The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford|Julia Fox|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320429275l/1206219._SX50_.jpg|2053669] as a source in her acknowledgements because it's a book that takes a very different look at her. Same with her talking about things she drew from and read about Anne Boleyn's last days.

All in all, a second book. I cannot wait to read the final book because I've been waiting for years now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, and Sexism

Moderate: Blood