Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Boatman's Daughter by Andy Davidson

8 reviews

shysheepys's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

The Boatman's Daughter starts slow, in the first chapter, but from there it goes FAST. Intertwining stories, all in a fucked up small town, blend together to create the narrative of Miranda Crabtree and her fight for her found family. This was WEIRD, but I loved learning the Slavic folk lore within. I wanted nothing more than the best for Miranda, Littlefish, and the girl, and I think thats what kept me reading. I loved this, even the fucked up bits that made me squirm. Not for faint of heart, will make you squeamish and also cry. Spoilers:

My only grievance is that some of the folklore mmonsters felt really shoed in. Even when there was a setup for them, there weren't enough signs that, hey, maybe this wasn't just a murder, maybe there was more to it. Still, at the end, everything got tied together.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

mlewis's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Confinement, Xenophobia, and Vomit

Minor: Car accident and War

blacksphinx's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

1.0

I only finished this book due to a reading challenge and having nothing else to listen to at work. Why did everyone wanna fuck the protagonist so bad? T_T

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Torture, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Body horror, Confinement, and Trafficking

A main character is a little person who is always called, even by the narration, "the dw*rf" and occasionally "the m*dget." Explicit whorephobia, including the mass murder of full-service sex workers.

heidijomann's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This book was a lot of fun as someone who 1.) Is familiar -ish with the folklore and 2.) Grew up near enough to Texarkana to not have to constantly google all of the regional references and plants. I think it could have been really frustrating otherwise. 

Overall the vibes were great, very dark and spooky in a folk-horror way. I think it would make a fantastic movie. My biggest critique is that it felt unedited and a little bit sloppy. Still enjoyed it though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, and Trafficking

Moderate: Animal death, Rape, and Vomit

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, and Self harm

directorpurry's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Confinement, Infidelity, Slavery, and Trafficking

froyobaggns's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

it took me a few chapters to get into the story. you're dropped in and you are immediately in it. there were certainly some hard to digest moments of abuse, pain, and trauma, but it really was a very enjoyable story.

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

negcol's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, and Child abuse

Minor: Animal death and Trafficking