Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

179 reviews

jedore's review against another edition

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

4.5

"I would not let a man who knew the value of nothing make me doubt the value of myself."

In general, I'm not a huge fan of Greek mythology...mostly because of the rampant misogyny and bad behavior of men and their Gods—which is why Ariadne sat on my shelf unread until several days ago. I really, really liked it!  

Written from the perspective of two strong, but very different, sisters—Ariadne and Phaedra, daughters of King Minos of Crete and sisters of the half-man/half-bull Minotaur whose diet was comprised of human sacrifices—this book kept me turning the pages quickly from start to finish. Although it was still filled with the tragic behavior of men and gods, the women were the focal point. 

Although I admired and loved both of them, I related more to fiery Phaedra who went after what she wanted with passion...often without the benefit of adequate life experience or deep thought...and was justifiably pissed off at the men. Been there. 

I love learning history through books like this. Whether you're a fan of Greek mythology or not, it's a worthy read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Violence, Sexism, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Classism, Death, Gore, and Cannibalism

Moderate: War, Abandonment, Blood, and Slavery

Minor: Incest

cursed_sapphire's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad 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

4.25

This book was very atmospheric and introspective, and I really appreciated it. Although I think half the reason I loved this as much as I did is because I am a HUGE Greek mythology nerd, I also think people who just want to hear more female voices will find this a good read- it definitely left me with some interesting perspectives to ponder. Overall, this really helped bring mythology alive in a way I strongly appreciate, even if the pacing is a bit slow-- there is a good portion of the book where not much happens-- and if I would have appreciated a bit more depth/time with some of the characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Suicide, and Gore

Moderate: Violence and Sexual violence

moiratheexplorer's review against another edition

emotional fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Pregnancy, and Suicide

carolinacortes's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad 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

Some of the prose in the dialogue made it difficult to get into the character’s personalities since it seemed more like exposition with quotation marks on either end at times. I enjoyed the more woman-centric focus, however. 

I did enjoy the world-building and care put into describing the various important locations. It was immersive and gave me a good idea of the environment, structures, and the overall vibe. 

Another contributing factor to this rating would be the pacing; some scenes suffered from going too fast and others too slow. I would probably not read this again, but I didn’t hate it. Solid 3+ stars for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Murder

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Sexual assault and Vomit

lilivdw's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

kkalicky94's review

adventurous mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Grief, Animal death, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Abandonment, Suicide, Death, and Violence

kayschwe's review against another edition

adventurous sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Suicide, Grief, Child death, Sexism, Gore, War, Violence, Sexual content, and Death

kaitlinlovesbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Animal death

Moderate: Alcohol, Pregnancy, Suicide, Abandonment, Violence, and Mental illness

Minor: War, Sexual content, and Grief

sas_ram's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I think it would be wrong to compare it to Madeline Miller's books just because it's also a greek myth retelling. 
I did enjoy this book. The first half to 2/3 are really good and interesting but the ending seems rushed and is unsatisfactory. I'm unsure if I should give the book 3,75 or 4 stars. So I think I will give it 4 stars with the possibility of correction. 
I do think the characters lack a certain depth especially as the plot carries on. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Murder, War, Rape, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Violence, and Suicide

nialiversuch's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicide, Gore, Grief, Toxic relationship, War, Child death, Confinement, and Domestic abuse