Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

144 reviews

katiesmash's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Animal death, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Medical trauma

unsuccessfulbookclub's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Um. Not sure how to review this since it is way outside my usual preferred genres, so I can’t really comment on the plot twists or mystery aspect because everything is a surprise to me always. However, the setting of the story, the prose and the characters were all extremely compelling. This book is darkly atmospheric and has a focus on rewilding and conservation that I enjoyed. I liked how I couldn’t trust anyone in this book and that every character was morally gray, like most people in real life. I was very interested in finding out not only what happened to the humans in this book but also the wolves the MC is working to reintroduce to Scotland.

McConaghy is efficient with her words, building tension and unease through two concurrent narratives and a flashback. This is a short book but not a super fast read. There is trauma galore here, please check the CW (in the comments) - beyond the deaths, there are graphic domestic abuse and r a p e on page.

👍🏻Recommended? Again, mysteries are not my usual genre so I’m not sure how strong that aspect of the story was but the prose and conservation and feminist topics in this book make it worth checking out if you are in the mood for something dark.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Drug use, Stalking, and Alcohol

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Blood, Body horror, Dementia, Drug abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, Violence, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicide, Torture, Vomit, Alcohol, Animal death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

hlpeters's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

stunning. breathtaking. I am in awe of the depths charlotte mcconaghy can create in her characters and worlds. so deeply human, and yet wild. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, and Sexual assault

miaj_99's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Animal death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, and Suicide

sam_h's review

adventurous challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Animal death, Mental illness, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Rape, Death of parent, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder, Dementia, and Pregnancy

Minor: Drug use, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

pollyhall's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I liked that the main female characters were strong and could take care of themselves. The descriptions of the wolves and the Scottish Highlands were well done. It felt like I was actually observing them.
I could not suspend my disbelief when it came to the Chief of Police because of how he was described.
With all mysteries, you know that there is a twist coming but this one was a total surprise. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Dementia, Excrement, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

michaelsbirthday's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.0

I found the story slow to begin with, and felt myself leafing through the pages waiting for the promised body to be discovered in the woods. However, after the first 100 pages things really picked up and I devoured the rest of the book. The writing is gripping and the themes are interwoven deeply within all aspects of the story. Inti is a  sympathetic main character because of her flaws, and her story felt very real and well-rounded. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Pregnancy, Blood, and Mental illness

Minor: Suicide

sopherdopher'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
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Animal death, Blood, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Child abuse and Suicide

Minor: Alcohol and Drug use

neb03's review against another edition

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

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Mental illness, Grief, Blood, Animal death, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Rape, Murder, Infidelity, Dementia, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, and Sexism