Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

The Last Heir to Blackwood Library by Hester Fox

12 reviews

amberinpieces's review against another edition

dark 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Vomit, Dementia, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and War

rhi_'s review

dark tense slow-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

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

beucleral's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and War

gracescanlon's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Gaslighting, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, and Alcohol

mrsasimmons11516's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is not what you think, but kind of in the best possible way. It was unhinged in parts, it was sweet, haunting, creepy, devastating.... its a Rollercoaster but also a form of mystery I've never encountered before and it was a good time. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Dementia, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, and Classism

yruss972's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

daralexandria's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury

the_crooked_neighbor's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

1.5

This book stressed me out. I wish the description more accurately portrayed what the book would be about and I wish it had trigger warnings. I take part of the blame for not checking more thoroughly beforehand. If you like mysteries with psych horror elements you might like this. If you saw this and thought, "I love books about books," take a strong pass.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Dementia, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual content, Torture, Medical content, and Medical trauma

A heavy focus of this book is

memory loss. As we see the story through the eyes of the person with memory loss, it builds a tense sense of anxiety as we see her struggling to confront the fact that she is slowly losing her mind. Proceed with caution if loss of autonomy and sense of self will trigger you.

tamara_joy's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Every trope you could wish for in a good gothic thriller is there. It has it's own engrossing premise, a fun read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Gaslighting

Moderate: Confinement, Death, and Classism

Minor: Gun violence, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War

noble_editorial's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.5

I'm a Hester Fox fan and I adored the premise of this story, but it missed the mark for me. The motivations of the MC don't feel believable and the supporting characters are flimsy. A dark, atmospheric setting is a hallmark of a gothic novel, but it falls flat here. The plot is weak, with several holes, and a rushed, chaotic resolution that feels thoroughly unsatisfying. Overall, it seems that Fox got lost in her own story. A good gothic tale requires a tight rein on the author's part. While characters may become disoriented by their experiences and consumed by self-doubt, enough control must be exerted by the author to protect the reader from feeling entrenched in chaos as well. Drawing the reader in and playing on their assumptions is one thing, but leaving them scratching their heads with no idea how the author has jumped from point A to B creates an unpleasant reading experience. 

2.5 stars rounded to 3, and I feel so sad about it. There was great potential here, but the execution just didn't work. 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury