Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Affinity by Sarah Waters

9 reviews

grayshuff's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Suicide, Mental illness, Confinement, and Abandonment

lidia7's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

Really enjoyed it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Infidelity, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Drug use, Death of parent, and Grief

Minor: Violence, Excrement, Abortion, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Classism, Blood, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Terminal illness

quechaya's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad

3.5

This was a page turner but the ending hit me like a bag of bricks. I just want to read about lesbians and not have it end in tragedy! I am a depressed lesbian so

Margaret killing herself at the end hit a little too close to home. I also didn't understand that Ruth was the molester ghost until looking up an explanation of the ending.

This book is good but it just wasn't my cup of tea in the end.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Minor: Rape, Pregnancy, Child death, Death of parent, Abortion, and Body horror

eleanor029's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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? No

3.0

I love Sarah Waters' writing but this book was so slow to build up. Had it been my first of hers, I'm not sure I would have finished it. 
Having finished it, I see the full picture and can appreciate the story, but while reading it, I was not as hooked as usually when reading Sarah Waters. 
This would be a good book club book to compare to 'Fingersmith', since I thought the vibes were similar in the end. 

I did find it quite unsatisfying though, that Selina never came to Margaret at all. I would have found the betrayal greater had she maybe come to Margaret in her room, kissed her, taken the things and then left her standing. But then again, the context of her escape would have been harder to explain...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement

Moderate: Drug use

Minor: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death of parent, Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

horizonous's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicide

Minor: Cancer, Abortion, Blood, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Torture, Animal cruelty, Death, and Domestic abuse

◦ Drug abuse = Laudanum
◦ Mental illness = Anxiety, depression

nialiversuch's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Confinement, Drug use, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Abortion and Child death

Minor: Alcohol and Terminal illness

charley34's review against another edition

emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death of parent and Blood

achillea's review against another edition

mysterious 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

Ok this book isn't bad but very much not my cup of tea. Don't have the spoons to say more but I might have enjoyed it more if I read it when I was in a different headspace - wherever it is that I am right now, there was no room for this book and I feel like I wasted my time with it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Drug use, and Torture

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

eleanorryd's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

While reading it, it felt a bit slow, but once I got to the end it was all sooooo worth it. Other than the sometimes slow pace and the very long chapters (not all of them, but the ones that aren't short are looooong), I really have nothing to complain about. I love the characters - Margaret and Helen are sometimes a bit annoying but that feels intentional, I think - the gaol is an amazing setting (especially when Margaret talks to the porter near the end and he describes how it moves and cracks and floods and feels alive, those paragraphs were just so beautiful). I don't want to spoil it too much, but for anyone considering DNFing: THE ENDING IS WORTH IT.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

Minor: Blood, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Gore, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

There are brief descriptions of self-inflicted injuries and general illness in the gaol, as well as the main character dealing with grief over her dead father and her suicide attempt in connection with that. Her mother is not the most understanding woman, but I would not call it abuse.