Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

95 reviews

lifa's review against another edition

dark inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.75

 Definitely a gripping read- I found the narration worked perfectly with the main character's condition. I've never heard of mirror-touch synesthesia, and had no idea that it's a real thing people experience. This book has so many layers. 

 

There is the tackling of climate change through rewilding, the connection between humans and nature, how that plays into community relations and the relationships and conflicts it creates. And then there is the really rough part of turbulent childhood and domestic abuse.

 

A warning about the violence and domestic abuse- it's quite strong even if not super graphic. The author does a great job of making you feel what the characters are feeling, because it's such an immediate and introspective narration. There was a part that made me feel sick and I did not sleep well after reading it. Still an amazing book. 

 

I give it 4.75 stars because one of the scenes felt a bit unbelievable by the end. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gore, Rape, and Violence

olivebleu's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Violence, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Cursing, Blood, Gore, Animal death, Alcohol, Body horror, Rape, Death, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship

mmc_librarian's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Grief, Physical abuse, Animal death, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual harassment, Blood, Death, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide, and Misogyny

Minor: Ableism

neni's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Gore, Death, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Cursing, Animal death, Blood, Dementia, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

christinesandor's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

Loved this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Pregnancy, and Sexual violence

Minor: Domestic abuse and Gore

labricoleuse's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I loved this book until it began to strain credulity too far. I’ll probably try another book by this author in the hopes that she reins in the tendency to jump all the sharks, because the conservationist thriller is a genre hybrid I’m interested in. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Animal death, and Gore

abbasaurusrex's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? No

5.0

Absolutely riveting. A stunning read exploring the nature of humanity and the humanity in nature. Lots of graphic violence but none of it senseless. Check trigger warnings but if you can get through it you will be richly rewarded. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Blood, Pregnancy, Murder, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Animal death, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Physical abuse and Domestic abuse

tibbarasden's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

3.0

I loved many things about this book. Unfortunately, I feel like the author just tried to do too much. I really think the book would have been better with less. I wanted more of the main plot lines. Even though the conflict choices ended up coming into play in the end, I still think the story could have been told and with a better result without them. I am also not a huge fan when authors use trauma and mental health as a reason for violence. I did really enjoy the wolves and neurodiversity. The way the MC could feel what she sees and the way the author describes this was really good. I also liked the disjointed feel of the story as that really added to the atmosphere.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Animal death, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gore, and Rape

corncake's review against another edition

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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Death, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Grief, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Blood, and Violence

Minor: Child abuse, Abandonment, Medical content, Confinement, and Gun violence

emily_pns's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Rape, and Domestic abuse