Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

8 reviews

kailiyahknight's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, War, Death, Body horror, Blood, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Medical content, Vomit, Alcohol, Child abuse, Racism, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, and Misogyny

katrinaburch's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

While not my favorite of hers, it is excellently written and a good story, as well as, being well researched. I enjoyed the fact that she used a lot of Mila's own biography as source material. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Gore, Murder, Rape, War, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Violence, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Blood, Alcoholism, and Death

sarahflanders's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Stalking, Torture, War, Cursing, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

bedtimesandbooks's review against another edition

dark hopeful 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Blood, Gun violence, Stalking, War, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Medical trauma, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Rape and Abandonment

Minor: Racism

smkelly1997's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Gore, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Violence, War, Abandonment, Death, and Gaslighting

This was a good book not a great one! I would say the story is fascinating and I am sad I have never heard of this character before

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny informative tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I love Kate Quinn's storytelling.  It wasn't as good as The Rose Code for me, because I find code-breaking to be more interesting than being a sniper.  However, the history was new to me and I always enjoy that.  The best parts of the book for me were the parts that were fiction (the author tells you at the end which parts are which.)  I would recommend this for anyone who likes her books or has an interest in the Russian side of WWII.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Vomit, War, Abandonment, Alcohol, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts

thebakerbookworm's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

Kate Quinn books are pretty much automatic five stars for me...I just can't get enough.

What I love about her books is that, while yes she's writing about WWII—and you may think, do we really need another WWII book?—she always comes at it from a unique angle, a different facet of the war that is not well known. And this story is no different, focusing on a female sniper nicknamed Lady Death. Mila, with her love of books and history and her son, had my heart from the beginning, and I liked how her story was told. Her character arc was beautiful, and there's also great secondary characters here, particularly Kostia.

The author's note at the end of this book is a must-read. You can tell from the story how much research she put into this book, and her note explains which characters are real and what creative licenses she took with the story. Also, she brings up an excellent discussion topic about snipers—how they are usually seen as the more "evil" way to fight and why this is unfair. I hadn't really thought about it before, but I'm glad I have two groups I'm discussing this book with haha.

Anyways, I listened to this on audio and loved the narration! The Rose Code is still my favorite KQ book, but this was another excellent addition to her collection. Compelling characters, moving story, teaching me parts of history I didn't know. This book just further cemented Kate Quinn as an auto-buy author for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Minor: Racism, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcoholism

sirissacgluten's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Besties, Kate Quinn has done it again. I’m not a fan of WWII fiction, but I will never hesitate to read a WWII novel if Kate Quinn is at the helm.

The Diamond Eye is almost a pseudo-autobiography, an engrossing re-imagining the official (state-sponsored) memoir of Soviet sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko. When German troops reach the borders of the USSR, Mila abandons her quiet life as a library research assistant and history student to enlist in the Red Army. The book moves between her time acclimating to the horrors of war as she hones her deadly sharpshooting skills and her subsequent goodwill tour across America.

4/5: I really enjoyed this one; it wasn’t my favorite of Quinn’s (The Rose Code and Mistress of Rome hold that honor), but it was impeccably researched and full of interesting characters. Fans of The Huntress in particular should love The Diamond Eye’s deeper dive into Soviet resistance during the war.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Medical content, Death, Violence, Sexism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Murder, Gore, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Stalking

Minor: Genocide, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, and Antisemitism