Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

6 reviews

emoxxecologist's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

3.5

So much of this book is set in the past, in Elizabethan England. The historical aspects of it were intriguing to me for multiple reasons. We get to see the roles of different types of women and their parts of running a household. There were a lot of little details the author threw in about life back then, which tells me she did her research. One such thing is how you used to have to get to the palace by boat. The city of London and its surroundings are so ancient, but it used to look so different that parts of it would be unrecognizable now to someone that lived back then. 

The writing was superb, but I hated how Matthew was such a dick most of the time. And it was like Diana just took it. That was what made me lower my rating from 4.75 stars to 3.5. It’s hard for me to imagine a modern woman, and a feminist at that, putting up with that man’s BS. Outside of needing her magic lessons, I’m surprised she didn’t kick him to the curb on more than one occasion.

Especially after that first miscarriage- he was acting like a total twat, getting lost in his own shit and coming home high on drugs, without even considering her feelings.

He could seriously be really selfish sometimes, but I guess that’s entitled men in Elizabethan England? Women were basically property and second class citizens. But I guess in some ways it’s a good thing that they worked through their differences so that he could make the kind of character development we all wanted to see. So I guess overall, I didn’t like some of the plot points that it took to get there, but I can’t change it. 

I did like how there was kind of back and forth between Matthew and Diana in the past and the rest of the family in the present, so there wasn’t a ton for the readers to catch up on when they got back. It was cool how the family tracked down the painted miniatures and other little trinkets from their time in the past. This was also a smart way to introduce Phoebe into the story, since she was an employee at the auction house.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and Pregnancy

Moderate: Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Misogyny, and Violence

Minor: Drug abuse

gillian_aftanas's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Grief, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Murder, Blood, Mental illness, Gore, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexism, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Classism, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Death of parent

Minor: Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Sexual assault, Vomit, Confinement, Child abuse, Child death, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Drug abuse, and Rape

aduqu's review

emotional mysterious 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

3.5

I almost stopped reading this book many times - it's mottled with both intriguing and painfully slow parts, but the good parts are worth slogging through the bad.

Matthew is less of an ass in this one, and Diana is less helpless.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage

Moderate: Alcohol, Torture, Drug abuse, and Violence

Minor: Rape

laura_mcloughlin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

My favorite of the series. Yes, the plot is extremely slow moving. It takes almost half the book for Matthew and Diana to actually start doing the thing that sent them to Elizabethian England. Do I care? No, I do not. I like the meandering plot and the characters we meet along the way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Miscarriage, and Blood

Moderate: Grief, Sexual content, Violence, Pregnancy, and Death of parent

Minor: Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Antisemitism, and Child abuse

hexenlibrarian's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual content, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, and Blood

msjk427's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

I had been looking for something immersive and this series has really done the trick. While the switch to the Elizabethian past took a moment to get used to, once adjusted, it made me realize just how much I love historical fiction. Matthew and Diana's relationship and storyline deepens and draws the readers in like a finely woven tapestry. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Drug abuse

Moderate: Child death, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Physical abuse