Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

Magpie by Elizabeth Day

125 reviews

mazatha's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No

3.25

The end was disappointing. After a good built up in the first half, it just seemed to go, “so anyway that’s that”.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility and Miscarriage

nialiversuch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Cursing, Gaslighting, Infertility, Toxic friendship, Pregnancy, Classism, Grief, Emotional abuse, Rape, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Medical trauma and Sexual content

Minor: Vomit and Child abuse

bobinsbooknook's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this audio book and even finished it in a day! 

The writing style, characters and twists this book took made it an incredibly engaging read. I also thought this was very different from other books that I’ve read.

The approach on the twisted mindset, manipulation and of course the themes of infertility were well constructed and at times quite emotional. 

The ending was a tad underwhelming and there were parts of the plot I felt could have been fleshed out more to hit home on but overall an interesting read and would recommend - but be sure to check the content warnings beforehand. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility and Miscarriage

Moderate: Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Rape

Minor: Abandonment

ginnyreads's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility and Mental illness

Moderate: Rape

belletex's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Not a subject matter I’d pick generally but the book was so well written and kept you turning every page and guessing what the hell is going on! Great read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Pregnancy, and Mental illness

Moderate: Abandonment

megan_bbender's review

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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

My friends call me Magpie so when I saw this book on the shelf I just had to get it. It's not the most amazing book I have ever read but it also isn't the worst. I really enjoyed certain parts of it, but I found that there were lots and lots of filler pages that were very slow and boring to read. 

I feel as if the author does not think the readers are smart enough to figure out the twist on their own which is why there was so much back and forth between the past and present. This is what made the book feel so slow, because you are reading over the same scenario twice. 

After looking up the author, I can appreciate that this book may have a lot more deeper meaning as it possibly reflects some of her personal experiences with marriage and IVF but I personally cannot relate to these issues so there was not a strong connection for me. 

With that being said, the twists and turns were really unexpected and they kept me on the edge of my seat. The ending was a bit predictable but it was still enjoyable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Infertility, Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

emilydigweed's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Abortion, Rape, and Sexual assault

jemimaskelley's review against another edition

3.0

I was waiting for a second plot twist that never came which kinda made the second half fall flat

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility and Pregnancy

cheekylaydee's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious tense 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

3.25

I managed to finish this one in two days. More twisted than I expected it to be, which is a good thing. The only thing I was a little uncomfortable with was the use of mental illness

to drive the plot forward, which is getting to be an overdone trope, however the author did good by the character towards the end, so in this case it could be forgiven.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Infertility, and Sexual assault

Minor: Child abuse

sianh77's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

Really unexpected plot twist, kept me gripped!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Infertility