Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman

34 reviews

killerwhaletank's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-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? No

5.0

This book was exceptional! From the cover it looks like it should be in the romance section, but it definitely does not belong there, even though there is romance in the book.

The story covers three “cases” that sisters Augusta and Julia partake in, each one with some dark themes of abuse and mistreatment of women and children. Essentially it’s like three novellas tied together with overarching main story. It starts with the sisters retrieving a letter for a friend, which sets them on a path of what Augusta feels is true usefulness… helping those women that have no one else. Along the way they enlist the aid of their butler Weatherly, Lord Evan Belford (former nobleman turned highwayman) and others. They’re a Regency sort of “A-Team”.

The characters are fantastic. Rich, well-developed… particularly Augusta who is the one we follow (told from her perspective). They are realistic, compassionate women… and unlike in a romance novel, their reactions and the restrictions, particularly for two spinster women, is very darkly realistic.

The book is satisfying in its resolution, but has left a lot of stories unfinished (Augusta’s relationship with her brother Duffy, Lord Evan’s future, Mr. Kent and Julia, etc.). I hope that this means there is another book in the works. I would love to read more about these wonderful and amazing women.

This book is what Sarah Maclean’s Hell’s Belles SHOULD have been… if it had been more realistic, and the writing is fantastic.

Read the afterward by the author as well, it’s very, very interesting.

Such a great read, I was completely blown away by the quality of this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Excrement

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Trafficking

Minor: Homophobia, Racism, and Rape

bessadams's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Confinement, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Colonisation

magnetarmadda's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Boy howdy this book did not hold back and did not blunt the edges of the Regency era, but it was very well done. I’m genuinely looking forward to more adventures of Gus and Julia

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Cancer, Child abuse, Mental illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, and Sexism

smiti_nathan's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Outing

crisania's review against another edition

adventurous sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I like how this book focused on the lives of older heroines. All the characters are well developed. My favorite is Gus' character - she's independent, courageous, witty and adventurous.  The book has a strong plot driven by various cases that the twins go to solve along with Lord Evan Belford. The author was able to stay true to the time period while dealing with topics like women's health, sex trafficking, domestic abuse, death, and abuse of power. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, and Trafficking

emilywc's review against another edition

dark funny fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Trafficking, Medical trauma, and Murder

sugarloaf's review against another edition

4.0

I wasn't in the mood for this book when I started reading it, but by page 50 I'd changed my tune. Of course it is a little eccentric and some of the sensibilities and language is on the modern side, but that's the kind of book this is. 

I didn't entirely click with Augusta as the protagonist, who was just a tad too unlikely and stereotypical for me to suspend my disbelief, but I certainly enjoyed the many side characters in this book, particularly Lord Evan, and I liked the relationship between Julia and Augusta. It was a very good portrayal of two people who are quite different to each other, but their bond and willingness to fight for the other strengthens both of them. 

The plot was good fun. I liked that Augusta and Julia were definitely amateurs and went into things with half formed plans or without having accounted for most scenarios; it was very realistic for their station and added to the hijinks and stakes. It also gets into the dark underbelly of regency England with domestic abuse, child sex trafficking and "madhouses" and the torture within them all examined. It did a good job balancing the horror and gravitas with the humour. 

We are clearly set up for another book and I hope Goodman delivers. Also, side note, this is the same author that wrote Eon and Eona? I don't remember much of them except enjoying them a lot, but they're very different books to this. Goodman clearly has range.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Excrement, and Medical content

Moderate: Cancer

rhi_'s review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Rape, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Mental illness, Pedophilia, Vomit, and Deportation

churrocaitie's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring tense fast-paced

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

5.0

What a fun book that felt like an adventure of a lifetime for women in the “Bridgerton” era (aka Regency England). 

It took me a good halfway through before I saw where the book was going but when I got there, I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. I enjoyed how special each new character was that was introduced, and I loved how unique and dark Alison Goodman wrote the storyline with “history” as a baseline. I’m always a sucker for anything not-modern and I totally got my fix in this, while also enjoying a story that was perfectly adventurous enough for my liking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexism, Violence, Excrement, and Grief

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Murder

Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, and Kidnapping

goldseamedglass's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Minor: Infidelity and Slavery