Reviews tagging 'Classism'

The Shadow in the Glass by J.J.A. Harwood

9 reviews

pointeshoebookworm's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

0.5

As a fairytale girlie, I specifically chose this book to be the first book I read in 2024. To start off the year with something that I would fall in love with and there many aspects of this book that were great. But it ultimately fell incredibly flat. As mentioned by many others, the insane amount of plot holes, the potential they had!! The open ending . . . what? I understand wanting to leave the ending open to interpretation, but considering the rest of the book, it just didn't work. Most importantly, the main character . . . how power hungry or fool heardy (or both) do you have to be in order to completely ignore the reality of your situation. How cold hearted do you have to be, to continue on despite the lethal cost of your choices.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Death, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Classism, Sexism, Physical abuse, Animal death, Child death, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual assault, and Rape

Minor: Homophobia

haljonesy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

Moderate: Sexual assault and Classism

Minor: Sexual content

amalyndb's review against another edition

3.5

I need to remember that I do not enjoy Gothic novels in November with SAD.

This is very much a Gothic novel, the slow descent from reality into unraveling. It is well done, just not my cup of tea 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Death, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Classism, Gore, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Vomit, Incest, Murder, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, and Miscarriage

livetgjennomb_ker's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Murder, Abortion, Rape, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Classism, Misogyny, Death, and Death of parent

rachaelvo4's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

3.5

The ending was expected but also disappointing nonetheless. After awhile I just thought Eleanor was irritating but she is a great character to analyze, I do understand that she had so much going on w her circumstance, and it’s hard to have self control when you’re given the option between your greatest dreams and living hell. She does not deserve any of the love that Charles gave her. I love the historical time period accuracy. The relationship w the characters was a little hard to see how they reflected on the main character, felt like it was mostly to give more storylines and keep plot moving. Probably wouldn’t read again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Car accident, Death of parent, Rape, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Animal death, Body horror, Violence, Blood, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, and Classism

gardenroses23's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Rape, Death, and Murder

Minor: Death of parent

pertlek's review

dark mysterious 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

2.25

I really wanted to love this book. I tried so hard to honestly the whole gothic twist on Cinderella is what drew me in but in reality it’s this poor girl who just wants some basic human needs like safety and shelter and the only possible way she was able to get those things was by trading in her soul. <spoilers> I honestly really wanted her to be happy in the end not necessarily with Charles but to see her go and travel with her friends. But instead her want of basic needs left her dead after she used her last wish and she was never able to be truly happy. I k ow that not all books end happily but this book truly didn’t have a second of hope attached to it. <\spoilers>

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Classism, Emotional abuse, and Miscarriage

wordswitwonder's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Classism, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Bullying, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Abortion, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Pedophilia

Minor: Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Pregnancy

rogue_sheep_reads's review

dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

It was a slow build, and fairly anticlimactic, but it still sucked me in and kept me reading for three days until I finished it. I can’t explain what kept me coming back, when I generally felt kind of bored while reading it. I will admit that the premise of the story is interesting, and when I explained it to others it sounded better than what I was reading. It was an intriguing idea that could have been done better. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Gore

Moderate: Mental illness, Murder, Classism, Death, Death of parent, and Chronic illness

Minor: Miscarriage, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Grief, and Cursing