Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont

12 reviews

mags88's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Twists - historical - empowerment- female lead - trauma - resilience 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Rape, Medical trauma, War, Pregnancy, Confinement, Miscarriage, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Abandonment, and Murder

abotte's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Rape, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, War, and Sexual assault

passionatereader78's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-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

4.5

What a twisted tale of love! What does a woman do when her husband leaves her for his mistress? She disappears and uncovers a horrible past act that has impacted her future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Abandonment

Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Death, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Trafficking, War, Sexual violence, and Torture

frantically's review

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

This would've been so much more fun without Agatha Christie. Sorry. Nan's story was so well-written and just deserved its own place, especially in this climate, where we're more openly talking about the horrible things that have happened due to organized religion. The "historical" details of what happened to the Christies always took me out the story and didn't really fit within the plot, in my opinion. I got really into it at the end but the writing was a bit confusing at times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Animal death, Death, Infidelity, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, War, and Physical abuse

Minor: Death of parent and Abandonment

feebles640's review against another edition

mysterious sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Rape, Infidelity, Abandonment, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, and Death

Minor: Child death and War

brennarose's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

2.5

Uninventive, predictable. Two dimensional characters

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Abandonment

kaylamoran's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

3.0

This was a 5 star prediction for me, and it fell so flat.  It never managed to get me to care about the characters, despite all of its efforts.  It's not bad per se but I'm extremely disappointed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, War, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault

jessgreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

Rating: ⭐⭐✨⬜⬜

Title: The Christie Affair

Author: Nina de Gramont

Genre: Historical Fiction

Setting: London, England

Month Read: February 2022

Book Type: Hardcover

Publication: 2022

Publisher:  St. Martin's Press

Pages: 311

*Book of the Month Selection

TRIGGER WARNING- 

Abuse / Infidelity / Murder / Kidnapping / Trauma / Religious Abuse / Rape

"Perhaps a woman has a different kind of measuring stick. For when it might be acceptable, or even necessary, to commit a murder."

No Spoiler Summary:

The Christie Affair is a fiction take on Agatha Christie's mysterious 11 day disappearance told in the POV's of Agatha, and her husband's mistress, Nan. You follow both women through the days before, during, and slightly after the disappearance takes place. You also follow Nan through her past, filled with trauma, treachery, and abuse. 

Review:

I'm not quite sure how I felt about this novel, and I think the completely fabricated storylines sort of lost me a bit more than I thought they would. For fans of Agatha, I think this misses the mark quite a bit on being a good mystery novel, and Nan's stakes in this seem incredibly far fetched (and a little forced.)

Nan's past was an incredibly hard part of this book to get through, for me, and I could have probably just read an entire book about this and enjoyed it a lot more. The Irish Catholic religion and the harm they did to unmarried women is disgusting, and as a newer Mom this sent me into rages. I cannot imagine what all of these women went through, and it just hurts so much to know that religion, and those who upheld it, caused people so much pain.

I wish we got to know Archie more, besides just being the man in the center of these two women.I feel like he was really underdeveloped and one sided, and I left the novel unsure why anyone even wanted him in the firs place. 

See more reviews at:  https://jessgreads.wixsite.com

"As if the sheer force of her anguish had made her, inexplicably, the most important person on earth"

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Trafficking, Violence, Abandonment, Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual content

Moderate: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Alcohol, Bullying, and Confinement

molly0909's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child death, Infertility, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, War, Death, and Domestic abuse

chelsaat's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.25

Not to be confused with The Mystery of Mrs. Christie or that episode of Doctor Who, this trend of exploring what happened during Agatha Christie’s mysterious 10-day disappearance in 1926 nonetheless continues with Nina de Gramont’s The Christie Affair.

I really enjoyed the characters in this. Despite my initial skepticism of having this story told from the POV of Archie’s mistress (and I’m still skeptical of the moments where she’s telling us what certain characters are thinking and feeling), I did really come to sympathize with Nan. Her own tragic love story was quite sad, as is the general commentary on how unwed pregnant women were treated back then. I also enjoyed the murder mystery here, with all its little nods to Christie’s famous stories.

That said, this book messed with history a bit too much for me. I know you have to spin a yarn when writing historical fiction, but I don’t like when authors change the hard-set facts to fit their own narrative. Saying what major facts get changed here spoils the twist of the book, so I won’t reveal it, but I wasn’t a fan.

In my opinion, a successful historical fiction uses the facts as a starting point and then fills in the gaps. Otherwise, just create a whole new story that is “inspired by” true events. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Infidelity