Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Sundial by Catriona Ward

201 reviews

bookedandbusy's review against another edition

dark 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? No

5.0

This book was eerie and unsettling and I loved it! The plot twists, especially the last one, were insane and I did not see them coming ! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, Vomit, and Animal death

Moderate: Drug use and Infidelity

lopstrosity's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Child abuse, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Minor: Miscarriage

jrocbutterfly's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This book passes a little slowly at the beginning but does not take long to Amp up to a full throttle roller coaster. Told from 2 perpecrives, one of Rob and one of her daughter Callie. Sundial is a terrifying tale of the question, does human experience or true nature make a person evil. Or is it a little bit of both. Ward keeps you guessing through the whole book on what is true, what you truly know, and what really happened. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Addiction, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Animal death

Minor: Child death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abortion, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

sarah_bettina's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Animal death

Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Confinement, Death, Child death, Blood, Miscarriage, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence

jesselyn's review

dark sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Blood, Toxic relationship, Gore, Death, Confinement, Mental illness, Infidelity, Grief, Drug use, Addiction, Self harm, Death of parent, Violence, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Drug abuse, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting

lionfish_22's review

dark emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gaslighting, Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Gore, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

kingkiller99's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, and Murder

elbauer002's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Blood, Murder, Animal death, Death, and Pregnancy

ehoustonmyatt's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Drug use, Addiction, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Animal death, Miscarriage, Blood, Confinement, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

shelbys_shelves's review

adventurous 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I was going back and forth between rating this book a 3 or a 4. I ultimately decided a 4 because I liked the overall plot and I thought the story was unique.

The one thing I didn’t particularly like was the fact that one of the characters in the book is a writer and there were short excerpts of her story throughout the book. It was like reading a book within a book.

These excerpts were a bit confusing and I found myself wanting to skip them entirely the further I got into the book. I didn’t understand the purpose they served or if there was supposed to be some sort of connection to the plot.

Other than that, I enjoyed Sundial and found it both disturbing and heartbreaking. There were definitely times when I couldn’t put it down, so I’d recommend this to those who want a story about family drama, secrets, creepy kids, and a little sci-fi element.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty