Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

19 reviews

naomi_k's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.0


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gayghostprince's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad 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

4.0


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erandle's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.0


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kelanor's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

I liked the gothic horror aesthetics that it brought, but as I read further, the story felt jumbled. There were ghosts, magic, math,
attempted necromancy, a dash of alchemy, and a time paradox thrown in?
I could get down with a lot of the book but parts kind of felt like the author just wanted to throw some things in for the hell of it. 
I would kind of agree with people saying this was all vibes and no real substance. Like if you liked Crimson Peak, this book gives a very similar feel. Yes it touches on guilt/shame, PTSD, and grief, but it was kind of sprinkled on top of a lot of nothing and a lot of everything at the same time. A slow read in many parts, where some of it dragged on and on but in the book's timeline it hadn't even been a month. Jane as the mc was interesting at first, like yes brainy independent person!, but devolved quickly into a lovestruck, dependent person in less than a week. With how she was described in some parts of the book though, it made me think she was neurodivergent/neurodiverse (super into a special interest, had difficulty in social gatherings like it mentioned she had trouble with small talk and eye contact "she had taught herself to make eye contact and to handle small talk, and how to smooth over how indelibly odd she was", she was uncomfortable among the crowd at her marriage, etc) which was cool. She had potential but in the end was lacking in a lot of aspects for me.

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lillianreadsalot's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75


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mo345's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

3.75


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petrolfox's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.0


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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

THE DEATH OF JANE LAWRENCE is slow burn horror of the best kind, built on bridging the gaps between wishes, nightmares, and reality with fevered applications of blood and viscera. 

The setting is technically-not-England, which frees it from being beholden to any exact combination of surgical sensibilities with historical accuracy while still conveying a particular feeling by the sum of its details. A surgeon might know the term “ectopic” while still practicing bloodletting and looking down on anyone so backward as to subscribe to miasma theory. Jane is an excellent narrator, highly reliable in how she conveys her thoughts and observations to the reader, but repeatedly stymied as she is less and less able to trust what she learns from other people. I didn’t much like Augustine as a person but he fits his role in the plot very well and is a great character. I love the plot, the pacing is excellent, a great book all around.

Its ending is immensely satisfying, fitting for the characters and in keeping with the horrors which transpire before. If you like surgical horror with magic and madness, don’t miss this one.

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