Reviews with content warning for Gore - Once There Were Wolves

Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

96 reviews

dustghosts's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

2.75

+ Beautifully written; McConaghy knows how to construct gorgeous, evocative sentences and scenes. I think this shines the most in her nature writing and an awe towards that subject resonates. There’s a lot of tenderness towards people and humans alike. The ending aside, the majority of the book struck emotionally true, even if not always relatable and often? Messy.

o An interesting and complicated array of characters who feel frustratingly human, though not necessarily… like “rational” humans. Despite not necessarily liking them, I found most of the people here to be engaging, and I think the mystery/thriller aspect of the story worked well because of this.

- Themes are muddy at best and troubling at the least favorable. This book covers a lot of ground (domestic abuse, the gray areas of morality, the human-animal conflict inherent in rewilding/conservation, codependency and shared-but-not trauma, the echoes of inaction, and so on) and doesn’t really strike true on most of them. A book doesn’t have to have a clear thesis but you could feel this one trying to get to it— there’s moralizing but no moral.
- While domestic and sexual violence are definitely key themes, the most direct victims of it are sidelined and written out of the story. It’s troubling to me to see Aggie and Lanie disappear from the narrative (one very literally) and for the arguable two main characters (and love interests) to be the two people cast as their could-be (but failed?) saviors.

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lilabachere's review against another edition

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challenging dark

3.25

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alexisgarcia's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

i absolutely loved this. i had no idea what to expect going in and i think that is the best way to read this. the sisters' relationship was amazing, the plot was well-rounded and fulfilled, and the ending was perfect.

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carolinefran's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

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picklespoirot's review

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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hefftbundle's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

I wasn't sure if I liked this book until the end. It's much darker than I typically enjoy, but by the end, I loved it. It is painful, emotional, hard to read and so well written.

It is an intense story about humanness built around the deep importance of conservation. Learning to trust and grow after extreme trauma is also a centerpiece of this book.

You will probably guess part of the ending, but it still has elements that will surprise you and make you weep. Again, incredibly well written. Will leave you aching and hopeful. What a wild ride.

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