Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Book of the Most Precious Substance by Sara Gran

11 reviews

pagancelt's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Chronic illness

samisreading's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Infidelity, Dementia, Chronic illness, Medical content, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Murder

joykeya's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

2.75

I enjoyed the last 20 pages of the book but the rest was hard to get through since I don't condone cheating in any way.

I didn't like the writing style and everything just felt a bit icky? 
Also this book is not a horror or thriller at all, I genuinely don't know why it's marketed like that. It's quite misleading 

 I only kept reading cus I hated the main characters and wanted them to not get their happy ending. 
This book is not what I expected and maybe just wasn't for me but the last 20 pages added an extra star to my rating

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity and Sexual content

Moderate: Dementia

Minor: Medical content, Drug use, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

thereadinghammock's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

This book was a wild ride from start to finish. You think it's going to start slow and draw you in, but then BANG! A murder and a mysterious book to be found! Lily is a protagonist you never really like, but you come to understand is doing the best she can given a pretty awful set of life circumstances. So when this adventure of a lifetime literally drops into her lap and promises the possibility to end her string of shit luck, who wouldn't jump at the opportunity? At every phase of her journey to find the titular The Book of the Most Precious Substance, you as a reader can understand why she's doing everything. 

First, for the money. Then for the adventure. Finally, for the chance to get her husband back. Every challenge along the way adds a new layer of wild mystery to the mythos and lore of this sacred and accursed book. The culmination of the hint for the book felt completely inevitable but also still managed to catch me a bit by surprise, which was just a delight. And the "magic always comes with a price" result felt apropos while still bittersweet.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Grief, Infidelity, and Sexual content

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Medical content, Toxic relationship, and Murder

archaicrobin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Lily is a depressed book dealer living solely to care for her husband with Alzheimer’s and dementia. She used to be a famous writer, living luxuriously with the love of her life but now she’s sold everything and struggles to make ends meet for her severely ill husband. Gran does an amazing job of setting the scene for Lily and honestly it was hard to read, her sadness and struggles are too real and I couldn’t even imagine having to live with that tragedy everyday. 

Despite her hardships Lily is devoted to her husband and finding a way to help him. So when she’s offered over a million dollars for a rare occult book on sex magic, she teams up with a colleague and friend, Lucas, to find the book. What unfolds is a journey across the country to locate the book and find herself. 

This book is very slow paced so if you start it, know it’s a crawl and it’s also very disturbing at times. As Lily continues searching for the book her and Lucas begin attempting it’s magic as well, which leads them to many dark and weird places.  Hedonist mansions, sec magic, disgustingly rich men, it’s all pretty out there and unsettling but I loved it. 

This book is not for everyone, it’s not fast paced or super exciting, it’s an atmospheric and tragic love story with elements of horror that weave together themes of loss, grief, devotion, and finding a reason to live once yours is gone. If you’re up for that, I highly recommend! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Blood, Classism, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Animal death, Chronic illness, Dementia, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Rape

happyknitter2020's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

'Opening a book had always been like opening a window into a new & mysterious world...When I was a child my books were my best friends...I saw that words could illustrate more than a drawing...Books had been the most lasting profound relationship in my life' pages 127-8
The quotes above say it all. A tantric, magical, whole other world, accessed by a book of magic & spells.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Infidelity, Torture, Murder, Violence, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

catherinedsharp's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.75

A very interesting concept; who doesn’t love books about books? The idea was interesting and I did want to know what happened but the execution wasn’t too great and I found it very dark and disjointed at times.

There were aspects I would have liked to have seen developed more and things I didn’t see coming because they were out of character etc.

Interesting read, not sure if I would re read it though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Chronic illness, Cursing, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Murder, Dementia, Drug use, Sexual content, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, and Torture

thecatconstellation's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

This book is well-written and interesting, but I didn’t warm to any of the characters. It is a book about sex magic and books, so if that sounds up your alley, I would give it a try. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Blood, Dementia, Violence, Sexual content, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Infidelity, Alcohol, Animal death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

babayagaofficial's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Sexual content, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Blood, and Chronic illness

Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Animal death, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Child death, Infidelity, and Kidnapping

I loved this book overall. Occasionally the way that Lily talked about Abel — her husband suffering from dementia who is unable to care for himself and does not respond or communicate — was pretty painful to read. She loves him very much and is devoted to his care, but at a few points there are some ableist sentiments (“burden,” “drooling thing”) that readers who are sensitive to such things should be aware of.

kris386's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Sexual content, Blood, Drug use, Dementia, Murder, Chronic illness, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Infidelity, Animal death, and Alcohol