Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

6 reviews

fancyjess_party's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious 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? No

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Child death, Death of parent, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Self harm, Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

griffl's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Child death, and Domestic abuse

theladyjsays's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, and Misogyny

lochnessvhs's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

3.0

Oh dear...perhaps this would be easiest in bullet form:

• I adored Opaline's story. It was the standout. Had the entire book been Opaline's story and thoroughly fleshed out, this may have been a 4-star read.
• Henry was the dullest, flattest, most useless character.
• Henry and Martha did not seem to have any chemistry whatsoever. It was only in the moments where one of them are thinking "oh s/he's perfect!" that anything came across, and it felt like we were being reminded they were supposed to be together. 
• The magical realism of the story was shoe-horned in and so lightly defined that it seemed to be pointless.
• There are 3 books in this book. One is possibly great (Opaline), one is okay (Martha and her husband and how she grows as a person) and one terrible (Henry and Martha and the magic bookshop).
• Plot holes make my head hurt.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Stalking, and War

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

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