Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

109 reviews

malinhalia's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

Minor: Ableism, Domestic abuse, and Alcohol

templetoncecelia's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Death, Toxic relationship, Rape, Murder, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Grief, Child death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Blood

mad_is_rad's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.5

Emotionally wrecked from this one. It made a distant atrocity (the witch hunts in northern Norway in the 17th century) into something very personal and real. Ursa was a stand-out character and I really admired her fortitude. If you’re looking for something heartbreaking and bleak, but with moments of tenderness, this is the one. Great winter read…unless you’re already sad!!! In which case, go read The Thursday Murder Club or something!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

lukests's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Misogyny

Minor: Miscarriage and Chronic illness

samlopez93's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Toxic relationship, Death, Violence, Domestic abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Rape

Minor: Death of parent

hilarylouise's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Death

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Miscarriage

ericaflaten's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Death, Violence, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Torture, Rape, Religious bigotry, and Miscarriage

chloeallegra's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Miscarriage and Infertility

nyk4envy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I enjoyed this book immensely. The writing and language was something to get used to, but once I did, I saw it for it’s beauty. A tragic story of pain and love and survival. It can only reflect on the current state of our world. Being prosecuted, oppressed, losing and grieving, finding yourself grounded by loves in your life. It was incredible to read, sometimes I couldn’t put it down. Sometimes I needed to put it down. I cried with the characters, I raged with them. 
Incredible story based on a far away tragedy and I couldn’t have asked for me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Rape, Homophobia, Violence, Colonisation, Infertility, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Murder, Torture, Death, and Grief

fmooks's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? No

5.0

Wow wow wow. This book was an emotional read that showed the complex human experience that we can imagine these characters would've had. From grief, jealousy, cruelty to shame, guilt and love. 

Somehow Kiran Millwood Hargrave made me hate specific characters and then cry for them in the end. 

While this novel is about the Vardo Witch Trials, it focused more on the conditions that could lead to a Witch Trial in this remote area of Finnmark in the first place - rather than the trials themselves. This book really dug into familial relationships, relationships within a small community, and how all of that is impacted by grief. 

I did think that the ending was slightly rushed. I see what the author was trying to do with how they wrapped it up but it left me slightly dissatisfied. That didn't take away from my 5* rating though. At one point I was laying in bed, reading, crying (lol) at the "breathe deep" scene - and that will stay with me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Grief

Moderate: Death