Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

25 reviews

lilsa's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content and Death

marjoleinvanderspoel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

This book really is a feat. Beautiful, atmospheric language mixed with modern topics and timely discoveries, this is historical fiction at it's best. I love how the characters all felt like real people and not swooning damsels and shining knights. But most important was still the wonderful naturalism and landscape descriptors. I desperately want to be a Victorian lady naturalist with a dead husband and no attachments now..

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content

Moderate: Animal death, Death, and Infidelity

selenesalavessa's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Medical content, Infidelity, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Blood, Gore, and Violence

starsreside's review against another edition

mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Medical content

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Child death and Sexual content

laura_keoski's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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? Yes

3.75

Things I enjoyed about this book: the lush prose, the moody atmosphere, the historical scientific explorations, the mystery of the serpent, the potential of some of these unique characters.

Things that got in the way for me: The book relied heavily on character development, but most of the characters still felt under-developed and one-dimensional. They were so one-dimensional that they couldn’t seem to predict the rather obvious behaviors of their fellow characters.  The ending of the book was a less revelatory experience as the reader than it was for the characters themselves.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Death, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Violence, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Ableism

Minor: Domestic abuse

nicoleisalwaysreading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I read this one in obsessive fits - almost breathlessly in two days, through the night and past dawn. My favorite part was reading it as the night shifted into morning and a thunder storm shook my apartment and rain hit the paved walkway just outside my window (isn’t that just the best thing you’ve ever heard? the drama!)

This is the best book I’ve read in a very long time. There are so many layers, things seething under the surface, no obvious metaphors, only complexity. It feels masterful and it’s unsettling and absolutely beautiful and when I finished I actually gasped and that turned into a cough (again, the DRAMA)

I already can’t wait to re-read this. Thank you Goodreads for a copy of this one; I was truly overjoyed when I saw I had won a giveaway for a book I had been wanting to read for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Violence, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Physical abuse

bedtimesandbooks's review against another edition

hopeful slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Medical content, Infidelity, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

turning_every_paige's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Domestic abuse

strabbyfieldz's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-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? Yes

3.75

some parts of this book made me want to cry because I had no other way to express how I feel, it was such a strange overwhelming feeling of connection to an idea to a person to a theme that it hurt in a way. but then other parts jarred with me, especially spencer's plot line... why did the book frame him becoming a landlord as a good thing??? also idk something about Francis and his narrative felt strange in that he only really came into focus at the end. BUT that being said I got so absorbed that my eyes now sting from reading for like 3 hrs lol

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Medical content, and Death

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death, Toxic relationship, Classism, Domestic abuse, and Misogyny

Minor: Bullying and Emotional abuse

bookedbymadeline's review

dark mysterious relaxing 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Death, and Medical content

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Ableism, Alcoholism, Sexual content, and Infidelity

Minor: Child death and Cancer