Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell

45 reviews

rae_em's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

I absolutely loved this book. It contained so many of the things I like most in a book - secrets, ghosts, witchcraft, an unreliable narrator, phenomenal writing - and actually gave me chills at times which is not easy to do. It does take a little while to really get going but once it does you’re in for a ride. I would say the last 25% of the book is where it really quickens the pace. I promise it’s worth it. I can’t wait to read more of Purcell’s books! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Child abuse and Miscarriage

drjoannehill's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Very creepy from the start, but as much a commentary on women's powerlessness in the 1860s - when it was very easy for an accusation of insanity to be used to lock someone up and medicate them up to the eyeballs - as about ghostly goings on. Leaves lots to readers' imaginations to conclude what was happening, which is okay but there were some big gaps in the narrative - perhaps that was intentional. 

The last of my library haul (and I visited today, leaving empty handed!) so I need to get on with clearing the 50+ books I've got at home

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Blood, Child death, Toxic friendship, and Miscarriage

leswampwitch's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

A well told horror story!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Blood, Death, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Child abuse and Death of parent

slimshaedy92's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

There are some cliches here, but overall a pretty effective ghost story once it gets moving. I say that because it definitely took me a couple of days to really get moving on such a thin book mainly because it’s been awhile since I read Gothic horror. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Animal death, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Death, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia

conniption_fitz's review against another edition

The book has two timelines, one in the 1800s and one in the 1600s. In the 1600s there is repeated use of a racial slur (g***y) as well as multiple examples of how disabled people are viewed as disgusting or evil. The disabled child is hidden away, only can communicate with her mother because her father and others don't learn her sign language, and she is suspected to be demon-touched (which is why she's disabled). There is also a party where the Queen's "freaks" perform as disturbing demons. All of this is historically accurate, but the author does not use this as commentary on the ignorance and ableism of the time, or contemporary biased that still hold strong. 

Instead, two third of the way through the book, it became obvious how the plot was going to play out:

the disabled character is in fact the evil spirit who is murdering people, and her evil nature is directly tied to her disability.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Moderate: Animal death, Racial slurs, Murder, Child death, Animal cruelty, and Miscarriage

bonky24's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness and Child death

Minor: Suicide and Child abuse

aloy's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Child death, Alcoholism, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Murder, Toxic friendship, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Blood, Violence, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Medical content, Gore, Drug use, Classism, Grief, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, and Animal death

Moderate: Racism, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Racial slurs

Minor: Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry

pinkyoshi's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Suicide, Grief, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Confinement, Child death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Miscarriage, Death, Vomit, Sexism, Self harm, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Cursing, and Animal death

immovabletype's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

3.25

this book is perfectly paced and builds tension and fear very well. i admit i'm an easy mark when it comes to haunted houses but fwiw this definitely gave me some real chills. i flew through the last third of the book. unfortunately it fell short of its potential for me. in particular this is a historical, victorian novel steeped in the expectations on women from outside of their control and within themselves - a lot of themes of what it means for a woman to be mad, and it blurs the line a bit. i was into it, and then some reveals happened that seemed to undercut that commentary. by the time it got to its ambiguous ending (ugh) it didn't even have the power to annoy me as much as it usually does because i was already disappointed.

i can't really say much further without spoilering since my gripes hinge on a big twist, but i am going to include them (under spoilers) in my content warnings below.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Ableism, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Classism, Grief, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Gore, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Alcohol, Animal death, Confinement, Infertility, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Sexual assault, Vomit, Child abuse, and Drug use

expanding on infertility triggers, as well as additional ableism/disfigurement prejudice: there is a disfigured child who is mute due to a birth defect. it's believed she was born without a tongue because her mother used witchcraft to conceive her when she was unable to conceive. big, plot important spoilers:

this conjecture is 'proven' true; her mother allowed something evil to enter her child when she conceived her outside of natural means.

also beware of many inexplicit mentions of CSA.

bxnnny's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

1.0

i found the overall plot to be interesting but honestly had a hard time staying focused and i'm not sure if that was a problem with me or the book. it was hard to like elsie because, though she came from a working-class family and had only been married into a more well-off family for a month, she still treated all of the servants, maids, etc. like they were beneath her, which i didn't find to be entirely conducive with her own background and upbringing. all of the twists were easily predictable but i did still find the story generally interesting.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Confinement, and Miscarriage

Minor: Child death, Sexism, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Misogyny, and Death of parent