Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

10 reviews

lilsneakybandit's review

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

place6o_ffct's review

dark sad slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infertility, Misogyny, and Classism

Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, and Abortion

Minor: Mental illness, Violence, and War

tourmaline1703's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.25

What an innovative reimagining of the Tudor court. I was totally immersed by the drama, the conflict and the romance. Having studied Henry VIII last year, it was really interesting to focus more on the inner workings of the court and to expand on my knowledge. Despite this being the ninth book in a series (which I didn't realise when I picked it up), you don't need any prior knowledge and things are explained as relationships change and crumble, whether that be within families, countries or lovers.
Philippa Gregory writes beautifully and perfectly encapsulated the personalities of every character with their dialogue and mannerisms. You could really feel the emotions of Mary, our narrator, as her life changes. Slight warning that some of the descriptions of childbirth can be quite graphic and disturbing at times, but it does add to the story and is necessary for the final chapter.
Whilst there are some quieter moments in the plot, it all builds and builds, ending on a large event. I think the way the plot quickens and slows reflects the coming and going of the Tudor court well. At times, I wasn't fully paying attention yet could still follow what was going on as the writing can be quite descriptive at times when discussing who is in the room, where they are riding etc, but this reflects the flowery language used at the time.
My relationship and thoughts on the novel's characters is quite complex but I would say the best way I can describe it is I empathise with them and understand their need to protect each other. Of course, these are fictionalised versions of historical figures so the way they are presented differs slightly from who they were but I think it is interesting to flesh out their relationships and emotions. I was uncomfortable at times with the way they acted and it is hard to understand some of the logic behind their actions as they are undoubtedly flawed. However, it is undeniably interesting to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Homophobia, Incest, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol

amwill35's review

dark sad

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abortion, Murder, and Classism

elizabethbest's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Grief, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Incest, Blood, Abortion, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Homophobia

erinvasut's review

challenging dark emotional tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, and Incest

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

naomi_k's review against another edition

dark emotional tense

• 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Classism

Minor: Incest

serabi's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

Minor: Incest

jlk's review

challenging dark informative 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? It's complicated

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Pedophilia

rini's review against another edition

emotional tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Blood

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Incest, Infertility, and Infidelity