Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

50 reviews

meguniqueuser's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Very melodramatic. The main character Daniel is overly emotional and falls in love with almost every woman he meets and they in turn are charmed by him. 

Every woman falls madly in love with Julian and is obsessed with him.
The criticisms that are thrown at romantic novels by female authors all apply here. 

While the writing is poetic and evocative, the story lacks much meaning. Yet the author upholds the plot like it is the most sacred of texts. Maybe it was the audio I listened to with piano interludes that made it even more overdramatic. 

Perhaps if you enjoy gloomy mellow drama you might enjoy this, but I don’t. I especially didn't like that the author describes women as sexual objects, plot devices, or the butt of jokes. 

There are so many endings and epilogues, it was worst than the last Lord of the Rings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Police brutality, Blood, Misogyny, and Gun violence

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual content, Incest, Domestic abuse, and Sexism

sarahcoller's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

I remembered reading this and loving it... but what I didn't remember was all the profanity and illicit scenes. Usually I abandon books with this kind of content very quickly, but I remembered loving this one and wanted to remember why. I still think it's an absolutely fantastic story --- the perfect modern gothic and super atmospheric. Two stars off for excessive language and profuse sexual content. Otherwise, superb.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content

Explicit sex, excessive language

nathalieisg's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Very intriguing. This book has been the first to throw curveballs at me Ina while and kept me guessing at what was real, who was who and how it would end throughout the whole story. I also particularly loved the European setting and writing style - refreshing after reading mostly American novels all year. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Violence, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Murder

seasonedreadings's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Homophobia, Abortion, Incest, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Antisemitism, and Sexual harassment

vilde_a's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.75

It took a couple of chapters getting into it, but in return, there were several chapters I just had to complete no matter time or place. If you like books about books, you’ll love this!

Read while listening to “Øyeblikke Vi Husker” by Hvalfugl. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Police brutality, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Miscarriage, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Domestic abuse, and War

Minor: Excrement, Incest, Suicide, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual harassment

rachelefelli's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Incest

_qwert's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Pregnancy, Torture, Violence, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Police brutality, and Suicidal thoughts

pricklybriar's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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

4.0

Wonderful characters and evocative descriptions of the setting. The author does an amazing job of weaving all the ends of the mystery together.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content and Violence

allapaz's review against another edition

This falls into an issue I have with a lot of Spanish translations where the language is just so flowery and descriptive it's really hard to fall into the story. That and the wild misogyny in this slow start making me feel the ick every time a female character is discussed, I just can't justify forcing myself through this one before the library wants it back. Maybe if I were in a different headspace

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, and Misogyny

amhud1030's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Sexual content, Violence, War, Classism, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Torture

Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, and Sexual harassment