Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

15 reviews

travelthrupages's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Abortion, Body horror, Cursing, Medical trauma, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

book_perk's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

2.5

 For some reason, this book really droned on for me and felt incredibly long. The story is told from the perspective of two women and two different timelines. While Eve's perspective was enthralling, riveting, and fast-paced, I absolutely despised reading Charlie's perspective. 
This is a very specific pet peeve of mine, but why did Charlie have to be good at math as one of her defining characteristics? This added nothing to the story and Charlie never really relied on her mathematical abilities except to calculate tips and keep track of the money throughout their travels. The analogies of 'solve for x' were overused and frankly used incorrectly. Also, Charlie supposedly studied mathematics in university and when given the opportunity to talk about something she was passionate about with Finn she chose the Pythagorean theorem? Of ALL the beautiful mathematical theorems, results, and proofs... she chose the Pythagorean theorem? I really wish authors would stop writing about mathematics with a basic high school understanding. Eve and Finn are the saving grace of this novel and their story lines kept me reading until the end. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Rape, and Violence

emakay's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative inspiring tense fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Excrement and Infertility

literaryliaisons's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense

• 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

1.5

I went into this novel thrilled at the prospect of reading a women-centered piece of wartime fiction. But the parts of this book that were really compelling — namely, the story of the fictional spy Evelyn Gardiner and the characters that surround her — were overshadowed and burdened by the vacuous, one-dimensional first-person POV of Charlie St. Clair, an entirely unnecessary addition who is spoiled, whiny, and frighteningly insensitive/ableist. How I wish this story could've just been about Eve! Instead, the disjointed POV shifting and lack of tonal consistency made the entire reading experience feel like a nauseating seesaw ride. Add in the cultural insensitivity of "Finn's gypsy girl" (yes, you read that right), and you've got a mess on your hands. I sincerely hope that another writer will capture Louise de Bettignies's story more effectively in the future, because The Alice Network leaves quite a bit to be desired.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Ableism

tatitos's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative inspiring tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Rape, Suicide attempt, and Vomit