Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

72 reviews

ashleereadsbooks692's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Gore, Sexual assault, Medical content, Death, Cursing, Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Emotional abuse, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Violence, Sexual content, and Miscarriage

thebookwormkatie's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Child death

Moderate: Violence

ashylibrarian's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad 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

4.25

A strong historical fiction that tells the lost story of Martha Ballard, a midwife who delivered over 1,000 babies in her small town. 

Maybe a more in-depth review to come?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Medical content, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Sexual content, Child death, Medical trauma, Pandemic/Epidemic, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: War and Fire/Fire injury

readandfindout's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

4.25

Style/writing: 3.5 stars
Themes: 5 stars
Characters: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Medical content, Blood, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Grief, Rape, Child death, Murder, Colonisation, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Pregnancy, Violence, Death, and Miscarriage

Minor: Abortion and War

mylxa's review against another edition

challenging informative sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

Thriller? Not so much. This begins as what might have been a gripping murder mystery. In truth the author is much more interested in the minutiae of the main character’s life and the story loses momentum very quickly. Disappointing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Pregnancy and Rape

mysterymom40's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Blood, Pregnancy, Rape, and Violence

Moderate: Colonisation, Sexism, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Gore, Medical trauma, and Murder

Minor: Classism and Sexual content

nicholems's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Violence, and Rape

Minor: Abortion

kgc8's review against another edition

challenging informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

While a little slow to start, I loved the historical detail. Written in first-person POV, there was a lot of exposition in the first third of the book as Martha explains how things work in colonial times. But once we got further into the case Rebecca Foster brought against Joseph North for rape, along with more rich details of Martha's daily life, things really picked up.  It was fascinating to read daily accounts of a woman's activities, back when most women did not leave a historical footprint (except to be documented as wives/daughters). Martha Ballard's real diary was very sparse and not introspective, but the author does a good job of filling in the gaps and imagining her life and community.

Though the book uses a murder to grab your attention, I honestly found the legal case more interesting because of how nascent the U.S. legal system was at the time (and I'm not even a lawyer!). The author's note at the end (don't read until you're done because there are spoilers) tells you you have to throw out all your preconceived notions about due process and the law before reading because it's so vastly different and primitive. Colonel Joseph North, despite not having studied law, was the judge in the area given his rank and deeds during the War. Not only that, he was able to preside over the case locally and didn't recuse himself in spite of the conflict of interest! (Don't worry, he gets scolded for that by the regional court).

If you enjoy history and immersing yourself in a different period, check out this book. I took off a star  because I think the author dumbed a few things down for "modern" readers in her exposition and I loved the idea of Martha Ballard's story being told more than the author's writing style.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Pregnancy and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Violence, Blood, and Death

amanda_reads89's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: War, Violence, Sexism, and Racism

amandaviljanen's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Pregnancy, and Rape