Reviews with content warning for Pregnancy - The Frozen River

Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

106 reviews

mylxa's review against another edition

challenging informative sad slow-paced

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

3.0

Thriller? Not so much. This begins as what might have been a gripping murder mystery. In truth the author is much more interested in the minutiae of the main character’s life and the story loses momentum very quickly. Disappointing.

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megannriley's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? No

4.75

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katiejohns's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.0

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jennastopreading's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-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

As someone who is not typically a historical fiction reader, I am absolutely FLOORED at how much I enjoyed this novel! I immediately added some books by Ariel Lawhon to my wishlist. What a wonderful tribute to a remarkable midwife, Martha Ballard.

Martha's character was wise, endearing, and no nonsense. I found her likable and honorable and I loved being in her head. As a loving mother and a smart business woman, Martha was incredibly hard working and intelligent. She was kind but firm and stuck up for herself and those who were on the fringes of society when necessary - the definition of a strong female main character.

I am absolutely fascinated by birth and the ways that women were cared for before the invention of modern medicine, and this book spared no details on the subject. It was so beautifully described and showed the grace and power of women bringing life into this world.

Last but not least, Ephraim Ballard - he has my heart. Such a gentleman and the epitome of a strong, protective, loyal husband. I love him.

So many TW's for this book, so please take care before reading it if you are a sensitive reader.

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celeste77's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

This was surprisingly great read. I had not heard much about this book, but saw it on Libby so decided to try it. I loved it. It was a simple, but emotional story that had me guessing and trying to figure out what happened. There was also some romantic and friendship relationships sprinkled into the overall story. I loved this book. It didn't take long at all to become invested in Martha Ballard and the other characters' stories. This was also a standalone which can be a plus.

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fcvouriot's review

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5.0

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vanessaedwards1882's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

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mysterymom40's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

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dkamada's review against another edition

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hopeful informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

Martha reminds me of Claire from the Outlander series

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nimeneth's review

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adventurous emotional slow-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

4.0

I very much appreciated this tale of Martha Ballard and what was likely the way of things in late 18th century Maine. Interesting look at how the legal system looked, and also the beginning of the transition from trusting the midwives to trusting doctors to deliver babies even if it's only touched upon briefly in the book. As it's fiction, I appreciate the fact that most of the women presented are strong and independent in their own way, but I do have to take that with a grain of salt because it was probably very unusual during that time-frame for a woman to be the one to piece together a murder mystery...

Still, really enjoyed the plot overall and I was a little surprised by the culprit of the murder, Lawhon crafted that part of the tale very well and it's not outlandish within the scope of the story. Glad my book club picked this one and I was able to get my hands on a copy to read it.

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