Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

15 reviews

saskiajva's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

2.75

Before you start this book, definitely read the trigger warnings. Based on the summary and the tagline “the most charming and uplifting novel of 2023”, i was expecting a cozy story about a magic bookshop that filled you with warmth, hope, and childlike wonder. This book was nothing like that. Instead, it is 431 pages of three different people experiencing and processing horrific and very real-world traumas. The actual bookshop is much more the background setting of their lives, and not at all integral to the plot in my opinion, which i thought was a bummer. this book could’ve easily been set in a realistic world without the bookshop and it would change very little. 

Ultimately the book was fairly captivating and i did read it to the end, but i don’t think i would’ve chosen this had i known what it was actually about. Or at  the very least i definitely would have been more mindful about reading this while in a good headspace. The history was pretty cool, it’s clear the author did a ton of research and there are so many historical Easter eggs interwoven 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Child death and War

Minor: Suicide and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

ash_bees's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

A single story told from two points in time about 100 years apart.  Very well written, I could feel the heart ache.

Not to distract from the rest of the story line, but so much of this is about the actions of a psychopath, the fall out from those actions, and the victims who are trying to heal.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Violence, Mental illness, Torture, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and War

lpantoja0295's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective fast-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

4.75

This was an absolutely enchanting read. I sort of saw where the book was going but was still delightfully surprised when I finished. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Death, and Domestic abuse

foxreadsbooks's review

3.5

This is described as similar to The Lost Apothecary, and that description is correct. There are multiple storylines, past and present, with a mystery to solve, themes related to domestic abuse, and finding your voice. While I enjoyed this more than The Lost Apothecary, this wasn't my favourite. With 3 POVs, it was extremely slow to start and hard to get into. I think this could have been cut down significantly. I did like the elements of magical realism, but wanted a little more of that.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Abandonment, Murder, Pregnancy, and Domestic abuse

sea_tea_books's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense

4.0

"A good story always begins with tea."

This story was more complicated than I had been expecting. There were cozy, hygge moments mingled with a darker, more emotionally heavy undercurrent throughout the story. The consequences of generational trauma are far-reaching.

Henry was funny in an unintentional yet realistic way, which made him charming. His humor helped to lighten some of the darkness in this book. 

Side note: Why did Madame Bowden say a curious incident occurred "in the eighties" but Martha says "in the sixties" when she retells the story?

4 ⭐

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Violence, Pregnancy, War, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Minor: Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Stalking, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, and Suicidal thoughts