Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

4 reviews

carolined314's review

Bizarrely inhumane

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Suicide, and Child death

Moderate: Pregnancy, Body horror, Sexism, Bullying, Body shaming, Classism, and Death

starryeyedlover's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence, Rape, Animal death, Xenophobia, Grief, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Eating disorder

debz57a52's review against another edition

4.5

This book fell on my radar almost a decade ago because of the Goodreads nomination, so I'm glad I finally got around to it.  The story of Ava Lavender is quite a tale, mesmerizing and sad but joyful and lovely too.  What really makes this book, though, is the story of the women (and some men) who came before her; knowing their stories and how they feed into Ava's experiences is what gives this story the depth that enchants readers like me.  The magical realism is pretty special, too, though.  There were a few slow-ish parts, which I mostly skimmed through, but this is such an enjoyable book that I never once thought the skimming was good.  I was just an impatient reader.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Animal death, Sexual violence, Gun violence, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Mental illness, Homophobia, Death of parent, Violence, Confinement, Infidelity, and Stalking

lilifane's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Please check trigger warnings before reading this book. 

No coherent thoughts, just tears.

I loved it so much. The beautiful writing, the magical realism, the quirky and strange characters, the small-town vibes, the multi-generation family dynamics, the heartbreak, the love, the foreboding, the perseverance, the hope. 

But it was hard to read sometimes because of all the... sorrow and trauma and heartbreak, especially towards the end. I basically cried for the last 20% of it. But I still love this book with all my heart. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Stalking, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexual violence, Death, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Rape, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Sexual assault