Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper

42 reviews

motherofbears's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Devastatingly beautiful and sad. You can tell a lot of care went into the research for this book, you get a view into what life was like for slaves in Pompeii (often terrible). I couldn’t put it down and read most of it over a couple days.

I took away a tiny bit because the ending felt a little tied up with a bow, but knowing this is book one of a trilogy makes me hopeful for more development in the future.

This is historical fiction at it’s most literary. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Violence, Classism, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Trafficking, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexism

Moderate: Blood, Miscarriage, Child death, Abortion, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Suicide, and Death of parent

leahkarge's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Classism, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Abortion, Addiction, Ableism, Excrement, Sexual content, Alcohol, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Slavery, Suicide, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Death of parent, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

bookwarm_220's review against another edition

sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Solid storytelling, believable characters, good world building.  There is some emotional texture in these characters that i appreciated, and merits the 5-star rating. A good novel of ancient Pompeii with some plot twists and a bit of a cliff-hanger at the end;  I liked it enough to read the second in the series at some point.  Fans of historical fiction should enjoy this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, and Death

Violence is a pervasive theme.

meri's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Minor: Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Blood, Death, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, and Violence

vampires's review against another edition

4.0

this will definitely not be everyone's cup of tea for very valid reasons but it was mine. the ancient mediterranean was ironically not my favorite historical focus to study, but it has Always been one of my favorite historical novel settings. on top of that i love historical novels that follow ordinary or otherwise not royal / titled characters (look away from my storygraph history...... i know. i didn't say i DISLIKE books that follow titled characters! and it just floods the genre. beggars can't be choosers.) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Rape

Moderate: Child abuse

kcbookshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

Heartbreakingly open depiction of times in ancient Pompeii. A story of pain, greed, loss and yet somehow a slither of hope remains.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Suicide, Child abuse, Slavery, Sexual violence, Murder, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Grief, Abortion, Domestic abuse, and Child death

meg_sc's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

The ending of this book had me reeling. I was a bit cautious about reading historical fiction from an era that I know so much about, but I thought this book did it brilliantly. Harper does a wonderful job of humanising the often overlooked enslaved people of the Roman world, and I feel like this book is paced so well. 
Definitely one to heed the warnings for if you're sensitive to the themes of the book, but if you're thinking about picking it up I recommend it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Sexual content, Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Slavery, Grief, Death, Trafficking, Murder, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Xenophobia, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Abortion

racheleanne06's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Pompeii comes to life in this harrowing tale of slavery and womanhood in AD 74. It’s a about love, friendship and doing what it takes to survive in this harsh unforgiving world.

I visited Pompeii last summer and every piece of what I saw there came to life in this book. From the food, and people, to the ancient celebrations and the cultures, you feel like you are there, in the city with the Wolf Den girls back in AD 74.

The plot is very character focused, but you really care for Amara and the other girls despite their flaws, and this world they are inhabiting is so full of terror and horrors that you can’t help but plead with the gods and goddesses that they survive the ordeals they are subjected to. 

If you enjoy historical fiction and learning about the ancient worlds, then this book is for you. Perfect for fans of Madeline Miller and Philippa Gregory. Just don’t expect perfect happy endings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Child abuse, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Abortion, and Death

Minor: Vomit

larawade's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Cursing, Suicide, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Trafficking, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Child abuse

daisymayl's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Abortion, Grief, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Violence, Child death, Sexual content, Abandonment, Confinement, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Pregnancy