Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Mad Women's Ball by Victoria Mas

20 reviews

marit213's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

3.25

I am a bit divided on this book. On the one hand, it was very interesting to read, and I felt sympathy for the characters. It also is very cool that the story itself is based on things that have happened in real life. On the other hand, I feel like there's too many open endings and that the book tried a little too hard to be feminist, which to me was a little too obvious. Over all, I enjoyed this book, but I think there could've been a bit more to it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Rape, Sexism, and Death

c_phillips's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Ending was a bit underwhelming compared to the build up in the plot 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Self harm, Child abuse, Child death, Abandonment, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Mental illness

picnicatthehangingtree's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

3.5

Engaging but felt underdeveloped and a bit half-baked. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Rape, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Dementia, Alcoholism, Grief, Classism, Blood, Child death, Murder, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence

reginacattus's review against another edition

dark informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexism, Ableism, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Chronic illness, Self harm, and Confinement

Moderate: Rape, Emotional abuse, Classism, Medical trauma, Medical content, Domestic abuse, and Death

merle98's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Child abuse, Grief, Incest, Self harm, Sexual violence, Medical content, Mental illness, Confinement, and Misogyny

mattiedancer's review against another edition

informative tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Writing: 3.25⭐️/5 

The writing, while insightful in many sections, focuses mostly on telling rather than showing. For many passages, the passage directly stated Mas’ thesis, pushing forward a firm theme rather than allowing the reader to come to conclusions on their own. This did make the book extremely accessible and a much quicker read.

Characters: 3⭐️/5

The characters felt real enough, and yet also rather flat in comparison to the content matter. Where I hoped to find depth, I was met with surface-level characters who occasionally displayed features that dipped below the surface. That being said, the characters were relatively intriguing and, since the story was short, they kept interest for the course of the novel. 

Plot: 3⭐️/5 

The concept of the plot is incredibly interesting but the execution fell a bit flat. While still enjoyable and interesting, both the main plot and the side plots left me wanting more.

Who Should Read This Book? 

• Those looking for an introduction to historical fiction
• Those wanting to learn more about Salpêtrière

Content Warnings? 

• Misogyny, sexism, classism, death of a parent, death, illness, toxic relationships, toxic friendships, 

Post-Reading Rating:  2.75⭐️/5

Left me wanting more.

Final Rating: 3.0⭐️/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Sexual content, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Drug use, Rape, Violence, and Vomit

stitchbooks22's review against another edition

dark emotional 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
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

I was drawn to the cover of this book and the premise sounded interesting. However it was not well executed, did not deliver what was advertised and the story was pretty boring.

I nearly considered giving it 2 stars throughout the middle of the book as the writing was pretty good, despite the boring story and characters. But, unfortunately, the ending made me drop my rating down as it was not that good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Confinement, Ableism, Abandonment, Death, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Blood, Classism, Torture, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

pjwanders's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Abandonment, Child death, Mental illness, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Rape, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Grief, and Suicide attempt

kamikakushi's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Rape, Suicide attempt, and Sexual assault

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Death

grace_r3ads's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Mental illness, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Blood