Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Sundial by Catriona Ward

17 reviews

kermit_the_wrong's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

Never really *got there*. It had potential but just fizzled out somewhere along the way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, and Suicide

Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Infertility, and Body horror

simplyammee's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Medical content, Mental illness, Violence, Animal cruelty, Death, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Addiction

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

nisima's review

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Torture, Kidnapping, Confinement, Animal death, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Infidelity, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abortion

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

Much of the plot and setting revolves around animal experimentation specifically on dogs and a coyote. Things go horribly wrong, and the premise of the experimentation is debateably ableist. The rest of the plot and setting basically revolve around a woman escaping a deeply abusive relationship, and worries that one of her two daughters might be a serial killer. There are multiple violent confrontations. The end is happy but may be too ambiguous for some given the tension.

alybark's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Trafficking, Pregnancy, and Blood

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

mfallon3491's review

dark mysterious sad 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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Violence, Gaslighting, and Gore

constellation_library's review

challenging dark sad 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? Yes

2.5

This book just was not for me, and that is okay! Horror is subjective and not for everyone.

Here are my CAWPILE ratings:

Characters--4: the characters in this novel were one of the weakest parts for me. I did not like the MC—I felt as though she was illogical and made really horrible choices. Her POV was grueling to read, and I did not connect with her or her plight whatsoever. The side characters were somewhat better, but even their motivations for things seemed flimsy at best. I wanted to root for someone, but I honestly, other than the children in the story, I did not care whether any of the adults lived or died. 

Atmosphere--6: this was the one thing that stood out to me. The atmosphere was tense, uncomfortable, and chilling. I felt the mood intensely, and was genuinely afraid for the characters, even though I didn’t really care for them. 

World-Building--6: This was another strength of the novel, specifically in relation to Sundial itself, and how the narrator describes the place. I could envision it easily in my mind’s eye, as well as the events that took place there. 

Plot--4: while this wasn’t my favorite part of the novel, a lot of the decisions made sense given the circumstances of the tale. I also really didn’t care for the ending, and that can make or break a story for me. Of the two surprises at the end, one of them was satisfying, while the other was too convenient. I can’t give more detail due to spoilers, but I had just got done praising one in time to roll my eyes at the other. 

Intrigue--4: This was so-so for me. While there were moments where I was genuinely interested and couldn’t put it down, there were things that completely took me out of the story. For instance, our MC is writing a novel, and most of the characters, if not all, are named after people from her life. I think that the way she is telling her story gives hints to the true nature of characters in the overall novel, but not enough for me to feel that this aspect was necessary. I don’t feel like I learned anything that wasn’t already obvious in the larger story, and it often took me out of the tension and suspense of what was happening. I think it could be omitted entirely. 

Logic--4: the logic did and didn’t logic logically for me. Sometimes I was like, “okay, I’ll buy that” while other times, I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of some decisions made by the author—particularly in the relationships she created between characters. And, again, some things were just SO convenient and clearly a means to an end plot-wise, that I felt a bit cheated as a reader. 

Enjoyment--3: With everything else considered, I just did not have a good time. Apart from the issues listed above, I do not enjoy some of the themes in this book (child abuse/death, animal abuse/death) on a personal level. This type of horror is just far too real for me, and I do not enjoy reading about it at all, especially when it has no supernatural elements to it and is instead people doing these horrible things. Both of those were central themes of this novel, so bear that in mind when going in to read this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Child death, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Child abuse, Animal death, Miscarriage, Blood, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Trafficking, and Torture

bookmarkedbybecky's review

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

Special thanks to #NetGalley #MacMillan and #TorForge  for a #gifted electronic copy of #Sundial in exchange for an honest review. 

I loved The Last House On Needless Street.  But dare I say that I liked Sundial better?  Either way, @catward books have placed her into the auto-buy category for me!  

Told through a dual POV, Sundial weaves a mother’s cultish past through her daughter’s ominous present-day storyline. Both past and present timelines tell a riveting yet deeply disturbing and twisted story that seriously made my head explode at the end. A true WTF ending!  

A short story called “Arrowood” is interloped throughout the novel.  I know critics have said they could do without those chapters.  And I, too, couldn’t quite figure out if this story is Rob’s (the mother) therapy to unload her trauma or an obscure way of retelling her history.  I would love to hear Ward’s perspective on these chapters because I’m sure there’s a deeper meaning that I haven’t uncovered. 

As with most psychological thrillers, the less you know, the better.  However, I must add a trigger warning.  The story contains a significant amount of abuse - psychological, physical, and animal.  If you want to discuss the depths of this abuse, please DM me.  Otherwise, buckle up for a dark, creepy ride to a part of the Mojave Desert no one should see. These people are messed up!

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship