Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Magpie by Elizabeth Day

8 reviews

nebula_314's review against another edition

medium-paced

1.0

I gotta say I'm getting tired of thrillers where the plot twist is just

oooo she's crazy! something's wrong with her mental health!

although i will admit, the plot did go in a different direction than I was expecting. Still, this book could easily have been at least 30% shorter, and one of the main characters got pretty sidelined and shuffled neatly away imo.
Also it's still weird that she followed her to yoga class I don't care.
Also holy sh*t I have NEVER read a book where the characters drank so much alcohol and their alcoholism wasn't a plot point. No wonder they had so much trouble conceiving. Hopefully they ease up now they're parents.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol

lucyyybee's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No

2.5

This book… Um, don’t know where to start. It was boring, exciting plot twist, back to boring. But within all the boring was also just confusion.

Evil MIL who played small role in book ends up being the biggest issue? Somehow thinking the woman with bipolar / schizophrenia who tried to kill her sons girlfriend was a better fit for her son. Mind you, she’s very stuck up and uppity. So that makes no sense as her son is “perfect” and she would otherwise see Marisa as very flawed.

Also paints mental illness in an odd way. I don’t know. I forced myself through it hoping for a good ending. I was let down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Alcohol, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Grief, and Infertility

franticfreya's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Infertility, Blood, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment

Moderate: Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Grief, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, and Stalking

silversparkles50's review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Infertility

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Sexual assault

heather077's review

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Infertility

Moderate: Rape, Stalking, Sexual content, and Miscarriage

soobooksalot's review

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Magpie was a true page-turner for me.
 I worried at the beginning, as I instantly disliked one of the characters and thought it might be a DNF.
 But the tides turned and events shifted, and I whipped through the pages to find out what would materialize!
 Magpie opens with Marisa and Jake moving in together and planning to have a  baby. Their lodger, Kate, may not be as she seems on the surface which causes tensions for the three.
 While I quite enjoyed the read, it's not one I necessarily recommend broadly. A great deal of the plot deals with infertility, fertility treatments and surrogacy, and other associated potential triggers. 
 The ending was not as strong as I had hoped for, and overall not as "thrillerish" as expected, but still kept me riveted throughout.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Medical content, Mental illness, Infertility, Alcohol, Infidelity, and Miscarriage

sib_reads's review

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Violence, Abortion, Medical content, Mental illness, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Infertility, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Stalking, Abandonment, Cursing, Pedophilia, and Grief

roisindoylebakare's review

challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Addiction, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Stalking, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, and Alcohol