Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

80 reviews

kteq's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

3.5

The craft choices of the characters-as-writers added such a fun meta-layer to this mystery - and served to explain the absolute ridiculous names and choices of everyone involved.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Stalking, and Violence

Minor: Racism and Sexual assault

wogslandwriter's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

To be honest, I found the book mostly boring. I only finished it because the audiobook was pretty short and I wanted to see how the real world storyline resolved. It wasn't too much of a mystery and the novel portion of the story was more of a supporting character to the narrative between Leo and Hannah than a full story on it's own.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and it's nuanced and less nuanced analyses of how a story is affected by the author and vice versa. Some parts were feather-light and I felt accomplished for seeing them and noticing the themes. Other parts were extremely heavy-handed and felt a little silly to read. 

I think having the "real world" elements be restricted entirely to correspondence was a really smart move and really pulled the book together. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child abuse, Blood, Violence, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Gore, Classism, Medical content, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Sexual content

Minor: Addiction, Pandemic/Epidemic, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Deportation, Alcohol, Child death, Sexual violence, Mental illness, and Pedophilia

One of the main characters describes and incident from their past where a younger sibling dies in an accident. Another describes a childhood incident where a beating from a parent has pedophilic overtones, but there is an intervention before anything beyond physical violence occurs.

darlingkelly's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Genius framework and intriguingly layered. And although I’m sure the ending spawned hundreds of interesting interpretations, I found it unsatisfying in comparison to the rest of the novel.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Stalking, and Murder

Minor: Sexual assault and Violence

jomicoop's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Stalking

justagir1's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Toxic friendship, Violence, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Death

Moderate: Gaslighting, Stalking, and Gun violence

Minor: Sexual content, Abandonment, Blood, Racism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Grief, and Sexual assault

oceanelle's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.75

There were parts of the book I thought were cleverly done, especially when it came to tone, but so many character details felt disjointed or forced or just out of place, like there wasn't a good enough reason for them to make certain decisions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Violence

Minor: Rape

arfog's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious

4.0

Very interesting story within a story premise! Was a bit confused at first by the emailed chapter comments, but came to enjoy it. Really enjoyed the story. Generally happy ending for the main character.  Note: the explanation of Kane's history contains a brief but graphic depiction of SA and violence. Was about 45 seconds in the audiobook, end of chapter 18.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Murder

bessadams's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Stalking, Child abuse, and Gun violence

Minor: Sexual assault and Racism

heidipretzel's review against another edition

mysterious fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Death

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Child abuse, Cursing, and Medical content

Minor: Blood and Gun violence

hypofocus's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This book was cleverly written! A story within a story is hard to pull off but it works well here! I found myself changing my predictions up until the reveal and was still surprised when it went down! I love the themes of writing and reading, this book was written for book lovers for sure! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Death

Moderate: Child abuse, Medical trauma, Stalking, and Murder

Minor: Cursing