Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld

14 reviews

weatherington's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

2.0

I’ll admit i didn’t research what this book was, so that’s on me and maybe I’m not “intellectual” enough to really “get it” but it’s straight trauma porn. I like hard book and I enjoy a realistic ending but to create something so vile and devoid of hope with the overall point being men and masculinity have been and continue to be fatal to women, I’m just not sure the book made any argument beginning to end. I know I’m sensitive and imaginative but some chapters made me literally gag - and again for what? To continuously hone in the point that men frequently treat women with extreme cruelty? Just like beating a dead horse although if given the chance I’m sure the author would relish writing about a man beating a dead women, in fact she writes several about men beating women dead. 
I will say - well written, and some storylines I found fascinating, they were just cut with incessant cruelty to the degree I will not be able to think of this book fondly 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Infertility, Sexual violence, Murder, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Body horror, Bullying, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Rape, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, and Violence

alwinburn's review

dark emotional mysterious fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Mental illness

jen_b22's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

catha1na's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Murder, Misogyny, Rape, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Sexism, Self harm, Death, Child death, Mental illness, Infidelity, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Adult/minor relationship

franceselsie's review

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Murder, Stalking, Infidelity, Drug use, Grief, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Violence, Mental illness, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Suicide, Misogyny, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Sexual content, Vomit, Cursing, and Animal death

azebrareads's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Classism, Infertility, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual assault, Ableism, Bullying, Torture, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Violence, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Death, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders

savvylit's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

The Bass Rock is a captivating novel about the full spectrum of male violence. From gaslighting and manipulation to sexual violence and murder, Wyld slowly and subtly drips in the myriad ways that men have controlled & harmed women throughout history. The Bass Rock forces readers to pay attention to what all women know - but may only occasionally acknowledge for sanity's sake. That each one of us has experienced male violence. Each one of us has had some of the very same fears and realities faced by the characters in these pages.

Needless to say, The Bass Rock is an emotionally heavy book. However, Wyld maintains reader interest by switching between each of her vivid, flawed characters. There is so much more to this novel beyond the violence. There's evocative descriptions of the Scottish coast, complicated family dynamics, paranormal activity, claustrophobic small town encounters... Wyld writes so beautifully that you can't look away. While reading, I found myself vacillating between feeling frustrated, hopeful, disappointed, unsurprised, and deeply depressed. If you decide to read this too, please be sure to take care of yourself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexism, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Murder, Violence, Rape, Death, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Miscarriage and Pregnancy

corneliusmcstrawberry's review

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

this book was dark. personally i am a fan of dark, challenging pieces of literary fiction, so this was up my alley. this author's use of different types of perspective (first person, third person omniscient/limited) is genius; once i realized why she chose to play around with perspective the way she did, it all clicked, and i loved it. good use of motifs as well, and great attention to detail/subtlety. the fox and the wolf are recurring motifs throughout this book and i enjoyed the symbolism. this is a story about patriarchal violence, and how society has allowed it to fester and ruin the lives of so many women across generations, in ways big and small. potential spoiler ahead (?):

the character maggie was my favourite - such a complex character, and her dialogue is a breath of fresh air that cuts through the fog and unapologetically hands you the message of the novel.

also, the prologue of this novel!!!! one of the best i have read. it sets the tone for the novel and frankly, it did have me hooked on the book from the beginning. i found parts of this book to be quite thrilling, as well as blunt and - as i have already stated - dark. if you are looking for a distinctly feminist novel, this is a great book to try. it was weaved together so well, the stories of the three women - sarah, ruth, and viviane - as well as those of the side characters have been braided together. this was a great read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Misogyny, Sexism, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Forced institutionalization, and Murder

Minor: Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy

rosalind's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Murder, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Gaslighting, Body horror, Mental illness, Child abuse, Self harm, Rape, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Grief, Forced institutionalization, and Blood

Minor: Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Abortion, Car accident, Confinement, and Cursing

thebristolreader's review

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

Minor: Child abuse