Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

The Maiden by Kate Foster

23 reviews

g_monaghan's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Oooh the male lead was so infuriating it made me mad at the state of the world and the lack of choices /unfairness with how women were treated in society and still echoed in slut shaming culture today, really liked the layout and switching between different time periods and perspectives I didn't know which way the story was going to go till the end

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, and Abortion

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Classism

tometrekker's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content

Moderate: Abortion

timbookshelf's review against another edition

Super slow paced, and frustrated with characters 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Moderate: Abortion

happyknitter2020's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

Read as part of the Women's Prize Longlist 2024.
A fictional perspective of true historical event of a woman being killed for murdering her Uncle. The author gently placed the tracing paper of today's understanding of intra familial abuse & a coersive controlling & abuse male to the experience from over 340 years ago in 1679.

Wouldn't have picked this up due to the cover design, but glad the longlist brouht this to my attention, as helped me to reflect on previous generations of womens experiences.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

kirstym25's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Abortion, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse

serendipitysbooks's review

dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

 The Maiden is a work of historical fiction, one inspired by a real life event - the arrest, trial and eventual execution of Lady Christian Nimmo for the murder of her lover (and uncle by marriage), Lord James Forrester in Scotland in 1679. The Maiden of the title refers not to Lady Christian but to the guillotine type device used for her execution. Foster doesn’t seek to excuse the murder. Nor does she portray Nimmo as innocent, the victim of mistaken identity or a miscarriage of justice. Rather she uses her 21st century knowledge and sensibilities to explain why her character (and she makes it clear that the woman in her book is a fictional character and is not meant to represent the actual historical Lady Christian) acted the way she did. And I found her imaginings to be plausible and convincing. Lord James was a thoroughly despicable character who richly deserved some type of justice, a public shaming by the Kirk at the very least. Sadly his wealth and status protected him from that. Foster also showed the way other’s contributed to the situation Christian found herself in and considered times when the outcome might have been changed. However, I appreciated the fact that she didn’t shy away from Christian not being an innocent party, one who acted badly, had flaws, exerted agency and while provoked did not need to kill her lover. Gender, money, power, status and sexuality all come into play, sometimes in unexpected ways. Overall a solid, well-written story that I’m glad the Women’s Prize put on my radar. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Abortion, and Murder

anniestonebarger's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Abortion

lvanher's review against another edition

dark emotional sad

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion and Gaslighting

Moderate: Physical abuse and Sexual assault

Minor: Murder

rhi_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Pedophilia, Blood, Abortion, and Classism

coffeekitaab's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

Inspired by a real life case, the Maiden is the story of Lady Christian Nimmo accused of the murder of her uncle and lover, Lord James Forrester. Told from a dual narrative of Christian and Violet, the prostitute Forrester kept as a mistress, this story is a page turner that keeps you guessing till the very end. Based in the 17th Century, and with well written characters, the supporting women from different walks of life and the men that surround them, you realise just how dependent the former group was on the latter. Women are either made to impress and become wives to respectable men or when they "fall" from grace, they're again at the mercy of men in confinement, be it prison surrounded by the gatekeepers of justice, or subjected to their seedy gaze, in the brothels. I was angry and yet fascinated to read on; a story that gives women a voice, gives the power of their thoughts a voice, of what happens when the same women take back some of that control in a world created by men, for men. The Maiden will create movement this year, and Kate Foster is an author to look out for. Thank you @netgalley and @panmacmillan for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest unedited review. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent, and Alcohol