Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

5 reviews

simone_elizabeth's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

Oh the horror of loving and being loved!!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child death, Murder, Torture, Drug use, Medical trauma, Blood, Body horror, Gore, and Miscarriage

Moderate: War, Abandonment, and Confinement

buildingtaste's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

From the first chapter, I always felt like this book was not quite telling me everything I needed to know. Since the setting is an alternate England, I would have expected more direct exposition about the things that make it meaningfully different, and also for these differences to have an impact on the story. As it was, we were soon locked in a country house, fundamentally indistinguishable from an English house (except of course for

the haunted basement

. Though having never stayed in an English country house I guess I can't be sure). Simply setting this novel in a more familiar country, even if in a fictional town or county, would have made this experience much more grounded and improved the contrast of familiar and unfamiliar once things got really weird.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Murder, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Self harm, Torture, Death, Abandonment, Mental illness, Animal death, Confinement, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Medical content

Minor: Sexual content and Forced institutionalization

As a gothic horror novel, Jane Lawrence comes in fast with explicit gore. Elements of the magic system involve having something affecting a person's organs/moving inside their body, which

the protagonist

describes experiencing in detail.

illuminatedspace's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Abortion, Grief, Murder, Confinement, Death, Medical content, Pregnancy, Self harm, Torture, Medical trauma, and Violence

Moderate: War and Gaslighting

Minor: Drug use

naomi_k's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Dysphoria, Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Gore, Body horror, Confinement, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Vomit

Minor: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts

lillianreadsalot's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Self harm, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Gaslighting, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual content