Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill

22 reviews

hmatt's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I love the concept of this novel: it's very original and a fun gothic take on historical fiction for the classical lit nerds. It does drag a bit in the middle for me, so I think it could have been shorter. The queer rep is there but only just barely, honestly, and I wish it had been explored more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Sexism, Animal death, Grief, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Classism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Death of parent

blor_12's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.75

Started really slow but gains pace half way through and is consistent through the ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Infertility, and Grief

kenley11's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Murder, Body horror, Animal death, Gore, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Infertility, Racism, and Miscarriage

caseythecanadianlesbrarian's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

Beautifully crafted story that is a kind of sequel to Frankenstein, set in the mid-Victorian period featuring an angry woman scientist stifled by her husband and society's patriarchal notions about women's intelligence. Wonderful characters (including a villain very worthy of your hate!) as well as queer representation. I wished the character's queerness was a little more explicit at the end, and explored in a particular way that I was disappointed not to see. There is also content about grief here that was superbly done. In any case, a novel very much worth reading, especially the majestic audiobook format. (CW: infant death) 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Death, and Grief

milesjmoran's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Medical content, Animal death, Medical trauma, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Racism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Pregnancy

attackrat's review against another edition

emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No

4.5

The fervor with which this book gripped me is unprecedented. it is slow, it is arduous in the details of this woman’s life as a wife of an archaeologist who would like to be one herself, and it asks a lot of me to become so invested in their fictional bone drama. And yet, I am. Mary has such a contagious passion that she could tell me about anything and I would listen. I was riveted by this book despite its slow pace, and it has queer and disabled rep!! 

My only complaints are fairly insignificant; Mary’s husband irked me for the *entire* novel and I’m sure he is supposed to, but at a certain point you can indeed hear too many “It did not matter anymore”s from a woman who is being unfairly treated. The other complaint is unfair I think, and it’s that I find fictional misogyny exhausting. But it’s historical fiction, so really I don’t know how fair that complaint is. And I really loved the book despite that, so it’s up to you if that really matters. Overall I thought this was an incredibly thoughtful and passionate book that forever changed my perspective on the Plesiosaur.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Racism, Animal death, Misogyny, Ableism, and Grief

ellekiriel's review against another edition

I had really high hopes for this novel, as a woman of science and a fan of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I really wanted to like it, but it was slow to the point of boredom and was putting me in a reading slump. I am usually a moderately fast reader and it took me nearly over a week to get as far as I did. I tried taking a break with another novel and then coming back to it, but that didn't help. Also, I love science but geological sciences and dinosaurs just aren't my preferred brand of SciFi content. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Child death and Miscarriage

n0elle's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I have mixed feelings about this one. For one, I absolutely love classic retellings, especially if they’re sapphic and this one was a very interesting take on the original story of Frankenstein. 
Now, while I do know the author tried hard to make it appear historically correct, I found it absolutely exhausting to read hundreds of pages of men dictating the protagonist’s life, telling her what she can and can’t do, how she should behave, what (little) she’s worth. 
I’m all for women in STEM, driven by ambition and scientific ideas that lead through breakthroughs. BUT if  her ideas and success are always overshadowed by a man or even taken by a man, while she just sits idly by.. that’s infuriating, historically correct but still infuriating. And while the main character did get mad about these things, she always stayed quiet. In the rare moments she didn’t, she was belittled and reprimanded so much, I felt the shame of being a woman bleed through the pages. 
Maybe the writing was just too good and too real and it made me feel so many emotions, some of which I could have gone without. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Sexual harassment, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Violence, Gore, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Death, Grief, Animal cruelty, Blood, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Sexism, Classism, Death of parent, Misogyny, Racism, and Terminal illness

lily_marigold's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Misogyny, Child death, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Death, Blood, Animal death, and Terminal illness

Minor: Alcohol and Violence

_teoeo's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring 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

"Frankenstein" meets "Ammonite"!

I loved every page of this book. It truly is a little masterpiece! It's so full of feminism and science and history and love and betrayal. Oh and Mary and Masie, they are my favorites! I wish I had annotated it but guess I'll have to read it a second time now! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Misogyny, Blood, Sexism, Chronic illness, Grief, and Gun violence

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Death of parent