Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward

19 reviews

erinnnn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Holy FUCK this was crazy. Ward’s writing is as visceral and beautiful as ever. There is nothing I love more than a horror novel that prompts me to reread previous chapters constantly

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Self harm, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

purstiltski's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death, Murder, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Self harm, Addiction, Bullying, Confinement, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Abortion

ishouldreadthat's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

Looking Glass Sound is a very strange book. Catriona Ward is one of my favourite authors and a master storyteller and this book was ambitious. It wont work for some readers, but I think she really pulled it off. It's hard to talk about without spoilers! Part coming of age tale, part story of revenge and trauma, it's a book about obsession in many forms. This is one of those books that you'll either love or hate - I can't imagine there's much middle ground! I ended up absolely loving it, despite being tempted to DNF at about 30% (there's a massive shift in the story that I found quite dull). I'm a huge advocate for DNFing but this is a rare case where I'm SO glad I didn't.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Blood and Self harm

grimdark_dad's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, and Violence

a_novel_craving's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Death, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Self harm, Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Suicide, Alcohol, and Grief

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Abortion

rachelunabridged's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Death, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Grief, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Stalking, Alcoholism, and Mental illness

Minor: Infidelity, Bullying, Sexual content, and Cursing

emmonsannae's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

This book was a trip!! The setting and ambiance were exquisitely crafted—I think that was the best part of the book. C.W. pulls off the ‘story-within-a-story’ strategy well in a way that doesn’t bore or unnecessarily confuse the reader, and by the end of the novel this setup adds several brilliant layers to the (in my case) unexpected conclusion. The last 50 pages were pretty wild. Though I guess it’s technically a horror story, I didn’t find the book scary so much as haunting with a lowercase h. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Suicide, Murder, Death of parent, and Infidelity

theliteraryhooker's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.0

This is a tough one. The first 2/3 of the book was an easy 5 star. I love Ward's writing style and I was completely engrossed in the coming of age story tinged with murder. But then the plot jumps ahead and veers wildly away from the tone of the first portion of the book in the last 100 pages or so, and I just didn't care for it. I found it confusing and repetitive, and it took away a lot of what made the first 2/3 so impactful for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder

Moderate: Torture, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, and Infidelity

Minor: Abortion

wheeliechick's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and Self harm

Moderate: Abortion

_cheshirecxt's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, and Death of parent