Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Matrix by Lauren Groff

42 reviews

prettiestwhistles's review against another edition

inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness and Death

Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Child death, and Sexual content

Minor: Islamophobia and Dementia

literarylion's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-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

3.75

Pros:

• A unique and refreshing take on historical fiction, especially medieval historical fiction
• Strong character development 
• Groff's grasp of medieval verbiage and phrasing is precise but not overwhelming to the point of seeming cheap

Cons:

• Extremely slow; frustratingly so at times
• The pacing and structure are a bit muddied; I wasn't clear on what separated each section from the next
• Pretty dense

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Blood, Body shaming, Child death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Grief, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and War

Minor: Alcohol and Rape

imrereads's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective slow-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

Wow. I didn't expect to fall so utterly in love with this books. While it at times is almost painfully slow paced, it is so beautifully written and I found myself enthralled in the story of Marie. I'll be thinking about her for a long time. Warmly recommended. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Sexism, Death, Religious bigotry, and Animal death

Moderate: Child death and Rape

balth_the_chaotic_good's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, and War

sincerelyleah's review against another edition

reflective slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Child death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Grief, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and War

kirstym25's review against another edition

challenging reflective 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Miscarriage

msjenne's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Rape, and Religious bigotry

ashareadsbooks's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Sexism

Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Terminal illness

Minor: Dementia, Genocide, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Murder, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, and War

stevie's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Terminal illness

outsmartyourshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.0

Marie de France related by blood, via an act of violence, to the royal family in twelfth-century England is unmarriageable. Tall & unattractive, when her mother dies, she is sent to England, & banished to a poverty-stricken abbey to be their Prioress. Over time, Marie rises from Prioress to Abbess & brings the abbey wealth & prosperity, but through it all she nurses her secret love for Queen Eleanor who treats her with scorn.

This starts off so well. I read the first couple of chapters & thought that this was going to be one of those books that looks unassuming but delivers. Unfortunately I found that it soon went downhill for me. It seemed to be more & more of the same: Marie receives a vision, commences building work, the other nuns grumble but do the work, money pours in etc. I looked up the history of the real Marie, & not much is known & this could have been so much better.

Thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Random House UK Cornerstone/Heinemann Hutchinson, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Animal death