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secre's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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? Yes
5.0
This is one of those books that is both heart breaking and absolutely enthralling and I found myself absolutely caught by it from beginning to end. The writing was vivid and beautifully done, the time period and place were captured perfectly and the events of the novel built up in such a way that I did not see some of the hammers falling until they dropped.
This is a historic tale of the imbalance between the genders and how the power held by men can be used in brutal and unjust manners. It's beautiful, tragic and haunting. One violent act spills over and ruins multiple lives over decades, each one a cascading pin that rebounds to the next. And yet, the actual trial is over and done with very quickly. But that one act and the miscarriage of justice turns into something far wider and deeper.
This is a dark book in many ways, but it doesn't revel in the misery. It explores the misogyny and power imbalances of the time in both a personal and wider societal framework, touching on a number of lives in the process. Amazingly, each and every one of them come to life through the pages. It touches on some important moments in history; the suffragette movement and World War I being the key contenders. These are woven into the fictional narrative with skill and dexterity, highlighting the impact on the characters lives.
It twists and turns, capturing the choices both bad and good that can make or destroy lives. It's thoughtful and contemplative at points, deeply tragic and sad at others. And yet it is a masterpiece of writing that is both compelling and haunting. It is certainly a novel that will stay in my mind for some time to come.
This is a historic tale of the imbalance between the genders and how the power held by men can be used in brutal and unjust manners. It's beautiful, tragic and haunting. One violent act spills over and ruins multiple lives over decades, each one a cascading pin that rebounds to the next. And yet, the actual trial is over and done with very quickly. But that one act and the miscarriage of justice turns into something far wider and deeper.
This is a dark book in many ways, but it doesn't revel in the misery. It explores the misogyny and power imbalances of the time in both a personal and wider societal framework, touching on a number of lives in the process. Amazingly, each and every one of them come to life through the pages. It touches on some important moments in history; the suffragette movement and World War I being the key contenders. These are woven into the fictional narrative with skill and dexterity, highlighting the impact on the characters lives.
It twists and turns, capturing the choices both bad and good that can make or destroy lives. It's thoughtful and contemplative at points, deeply tragic and sad at others. And yet it is a masterpiece of writing that is both compelling and haunting. It is certainly a novel that will stay in my mind for some time to come.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Drug abuse, Death, Mental illness, and Death of parent
lozababe's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What a book! To say that I enjoyed it wouldn’t quite feel right given the subjects in this book. It was an extremely powerful read and tackled a lot of sad subjects.
The book is written in both first person narrative from the view of Charlotte or Lotta Rae, and the third person for William Linden. It is set in the early 1900s and seems to be pretty well written and researched for that time. Their lives intertwine after William becomes Lotta’s lawyer when she takes a gentleman to court after she is sexually assaulted. With the era that it is set in, it’s not hard to guess the outcome of the case, but from then on it seems that the lives and fates of Lotta and William are tangled together forever.
Lotta’s life seems to be filled with more and more tragedies while William seems to have a lot of luck in his life and career and although he thinks of Lotta, she doesn’t have much of an impact on his life… until she meets his son, Raff. While William doesn’t approve, Raff and Lotta become closer and closer making William uneasy about Lotta being back in his life.
It was interesting to read this book and I sometimes forgot when it was set. But it was interesting to learn about the suffragette movement as if I was taking part in it, the horrors of World War I and even touching upon the Spanish Flu pandemic. This was a really good historical book, and it showed just how much a woman was made to endure throughout her life. Thank you to Siobhan MacGowan and Pigeonhole for allowing me to read this wonderfully written but extremely sad book.
The book is written in both first person narrative from the view of Charlotte or Lotta Rae, and the third person for William Linden. It is set in the early 1900s and seems to be pretty well written and researched for that time. Their lives intertwine after William becomes Lotta’s lawyer when she takes a gentleman to court after she is sexually assaulted. With the era that it is set in, it’s not hard to guess the outcome of the case, but from then on it seems that the lives and fates of Lotta and William are tangled together forever.
Lotta’s life seems to be filled with more and more tragedies while William seems to have a lot of luck in his life and career and although he thinks of Lotta, she doesn’t have much of an impact on his life… until she meets his son, Raff. While William doesn’t approve, Raff and Lotta become closer and closer making William uneasy about Lotta being back in his life.
It was interesting to read this book and I sometimes forgot when it was set. But it was interesting to learn about the suffragette movement as if I was taking part in it, the horrors of World War I and even touching upon the Spanish Flu pandemic. This was a really good historical book, and it showed just how much a woman was made to endure throughout her life. Thank you to Siobhan MacGowan and Pigeonhole for allowing me to read this wonderfully written but extremely sad book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Police brutality, Rape, and Sexual assault
anapthine's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Sexual violence, Gore, Gaslighting, Death, Suicide, Rape, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexism, Drug use, Confinement, Torture, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol
the_prickly_reader's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Police brutality, Death, Murder, Addiction, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Rape
Minor: Miscarriage, Police brutality, and War
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