Reviews with content warning for Medical content - The Book of the Most Precious Substance

Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

The Book of the Most Precious Substance by Sara Gran

10 reviews

smolfrog's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

I was really vibing with this and getting into the mystery up until the 25% mark or so, but after that it basically devolved into The Da Vinci Code but with sex and magic. You see the similarities in how the main characters basically jet around the world following leads/talking to interesting characters and you have to suspend your disbelief a lot (

why is everyone who wants the book so eager to talk to them when they repeatedly tell people that THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE A COPY YET? why would the Accountant give them a $100k advance when they haven't shown any promise in actually getting the book?

), especially in terms of how other characters speak (very exposition-heavy) and just give up their knowledge surrounding this supposedly very secretive book so easily.

There are a few interesting nuggets around the theme of living with grief after unimaginable loss, but it kind of gets buried under the "shocking" sex magic of it all.

The twist with

Lucas' character

was foreseeable but fine. I did enjoy the

morally ambiguous full-circle

ending

with the protagonist getting everything she wanted but with a classic monkey's paw twist

. She isn't likeable but is sympathetic in the way she talks about

missing her husband

(except at the end when she

calls him a "moaning, drooling mess", yikes)

. I didn't like the scene in France with

the dominatrix/witches assaulting the protagonist as a way to "will her back to life"

- it essentially excuses

sexual assault because it does spiritual good

.

I like stories about a lost, mysterious or "cursed" film/book with dark knowledge, but this one failed to totally live up to the premise. It's a decent thriller though.

Content Warnings

danajoy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

The good kind of weird.
I think people who liked The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz would probably like this one.

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samisreading's review

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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

Content Warnings

joykeya's review

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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

Content Warnings

thereadinghammock's review against another edition

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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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archaicrobin's review against another edition

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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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professor_jango's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious fast-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

5.0

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thecatconstellation's review against another edition

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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.

Content Warnings

babayagaofficial's review against another edition

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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

Content Warnings

takarakei's review

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dark emotional mysterious 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

2.0

Content Warnings

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