Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

271 reviews

abi_g_mac's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

saedith's review against another edition

5.0

Charlotte McConaghy has done it again. Such an amazing book with strong ecological themes. Also a book about family and love and trust. Deals with some heavy themes, so not an easy read.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, and Rape

itsmore's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, and Child abuse

northernfleabag's review against another edition

dark sad 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Violence, Murder, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Grief, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, and Animal death

charliewhitear's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Mental illness, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, and Rape

tamtamslibrary's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A story about wildness—about all the definitions of it from humans to animals to nature. The author does a fantastic job of creating a setting, from sentence structure to character building to sensory details. It is emotional—you’ll feel sad, enraged, confused, and sad again, but there is a rightness set by the end. 

****Check the trigger warnings before reading****

I’ll put my favorite quote, that gave me chills reading, below. I think it really encompasses the entirety of the novel’s message.

Favorite quote:
“Do you think it can ever be?” he asks me softly. “Bred out of a creature?”
“The wild?” . . . “It happened to us, I think,” I murmur. “Most days I think we couldn’t be farther from it, that it was slowly bred from us until we became more like machines than animals.”
“And the other days?” he asks.
“On the other days,” I say slowly, “I think I will go mad with the wildness.” (Page 131)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

Moderate: Grief and Mental illness

Chapter 26 is the graphic scene (assault). It can be skipped, in my opinion, and it won’t rob the novel from its purpose or intent.

ankellogg's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

Trigger warnings galore!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Infertility, Animal cruelty, Blood, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, 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

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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

sharanle0808's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

At the beginning of the book, I was immediately hooked. I expected that this would be a favorite read of mine. The first few pages started off strong, and I highlighted so many lines. Nonetheless, upon finishing it, I have a few points to critique.

I consider myself to be a fanatic of carefully curated prose. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I cannot help myself. At first, the writing was captivating and I expected myself to be impressed even further. However, towards the end, the quality of the prose declined, and I couldn't fail to notice, at which point, I became rather annoyed. Again, I'm well aware that prose is not the sole criterion to evaluate the value of a book, but this is entirely down to my personal taste.

Plot-wise, I think it's okay. The first half stood out to me more, and it was a harmonizing blend between mystery/thriller and litfic, which is usually up to my alley. But as the story proceeded, it shifted into being slightly unbelievable. I don't mind the violence mentioned, but I also struggle to feel that they're necessary. Some of the plotlines or details could have been omitted. I wasn't really intrigued by the backstory of Aggie's trauma, despite how relevant I recognized it was to the primary plotline. I have a feeling that had McConaghy decided to diminish that aspect of the book, I would have been more engrossed. In short, I could have done without it. On top of that, I'm quite nitpicky when it comes to a rushed ending. The ending just flashed by, or it seemed, and I was totally underwhelmed. Some conflicts were solved very easily within a few lines. 

It's such a shame because, at the start, I had so much connection with the main character, but due to the rushed ending combined with the increasingly plain prose, Inti was turned from a complex female character with profound thoughts into a violent caricature (I do not deny her traumatic experiences, but the author failed to inflict a strong emotion on me with the character).

However, I'm still glad that I read this book. I don't think it's a bad book at all. In fact, I think it's pretty impressive. It was a nice palette cleanser to my reading slump, and it was the first book I've ever read on Kindle so I do hold a sentimental attachment to it. Moreover, the book conveys a vital message about wildlife conservation. I would definitely recommend it to someone who opts for mystery/thriller novels and is interested in diving into an atmospheric setting of the wild forests.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Mental illness, Torture, Terminal illness, Animal death, Death, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Dementia

sonlight21's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

2.5

When I started this book I was not expecting what it would become. This is not a light hearted wilderness book. The emotional journey taken is wild, tense, and dark. There is a lot to learn but also a lot to be aware of before entering. 

At first I found the writing style hard to get into. It felt broken and chopped. I didn't slip into it until the last 60 pages or so. Some of the plot felt broken and missing such as the main relationship. It felt like it was just sprung into existence no feeling or relationship built. 


Please read the content warnings! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Blood, Animal death, Gun violence, Violence, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Cursing, Pregnancy, Murder, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent and Gaslighting

Minor: Hate crime