Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

65 reviews

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

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

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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

bookspastbedtime's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-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

4.0

This was beautifully written and I really enjoyed it. I think it would have been a full five star read had the on-page assault not been described in such detail. I feel like I could have understood the ramifications without having the full context, and that's just generally not something I'm comfortable reading about. So, I ultimately wish that had been excluded.

But, it was an excellently done story otherwise. I loved the characters, I loved the plot, I loved the lessons our main character learned (especially with Red 🥺), I loved the Scottish setting, and, most of all, I loved the WOLVES. It definitely made me cry and I really truly loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Violence, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide

elaan's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective 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

4.5

This book was incredible. I was absolutely hooked. I could not put it down. My only criticism is that the ending revelations/events happened so quickly (perhaps this was intentional) and were convenient and a little fantastical. But even so, I really really enjoyed this story. So well done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Animal death, and Rape

Minor: Suicide, Abandonment, and Death of parent

vanesst's review

challenging inspiring mysterious medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Death, Animal death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Dementia

Minor: Infidelity, Stalking, and Suicide

danajoy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

This book is brutal. Set in the cold and hostile Scottish Highlands, Inti is a head Wolf biologist reintroducing wolves to the wild. 

I went into this in a calm mental state, capable of handling what it includes but it definitely worth looking at triggers. The protagonist has mirror-touch synesthesia and feels the sensations she witnesses others experience, this makes any violence particularly confronting.
There is a lot of violence. There are animal deaths/injuries, desecration of an animal  corpse, and beyond that, domestic violence is a major theme. 

I appreciated the atmosphere. Inti was an interesting, intense, character. She made a lot of decisions that I never would.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Rape, Animal death, Blood, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death of parent, Suicide, Sexual content, and Vomit

starsandscarsbookclub's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Violence, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Murder, Grief, Death, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Animal death, and Domestic abuse

sparker190's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Animal death and Death

Minor: Suicide

atalea's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Rape, Violence, Toxic friendship, Blood, Sexual violence, and Animal death

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Infidelity, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, and Mental illness

Minor: Dementia, Suicide, Drug use, Infertility, Grief, and Alcohol

navayiota's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I originally saved this cause it was recommended by Leena Norms for spooky October novels, and spooky it was, although not in the way I had expected. I ended up picking it up cause it was narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, and I really enjoyed her previous work narrating Kate Quinn novels. I didn't expect it to stay with me the way it did. I am in shock. Visceral is the perfect way to describe this writing. McConaghy got me to feel every light touch and savage hit taken by the characters. She tied every aspect of the story up in a neat bow that lovingly punched me in the gut at every opportunity. I refuse to believe that a human can write like this, and yet it's so painfully obvious that a human wrote it, because what other species could describe the human experience in such a vivid way? My heart aches for these characters, who are painfully fleshed out with all their jagged edges and ugly sides. I wish more people read this book. I can't wait to read more but must stop myself from binging anything else she has written cause it just wouldn't be enough. May her fingers never tire of typing or holding a pen, may her mind never cease creating and may her soul experience every joy the world has to offer. Simply incredible.

I can't believe that I finally encountered a book where the pregnancy trope is treated with justice and respect. I was in awe at the mastery with which she ended the story, the way she made it all make sense. Every major or subplot is a full circle and that feels incredible to me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Suicide, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing, Dementia, Confinement, and Child abuse

Minor: Drug abuse