Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

The Book of the Most Precious Substance by Sara Gran

5 reviews

readwithbells's review

5.0

Holy shit. What a fucking read. A gothic centred on an object instead of a place. Erotic and sensual and frightening and utterly engaging. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything like it. And though the culmination was what I predicted it was completely satisfying. Often that’s the charm of gothics for me: we already know the main character will reveal their monster, and with the premise we can often guess how that’s going to unfold, but the journey there will be different for every writer and the experience different for every reader. 

Not a book for everyone but I adored how twisted this is. Might be my favourite book this year so far. I feel completely spellbound. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Murder, and Sexual content

Moderate: Drug use and Alcohol

aliceonpaper's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Medical trauma, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Sexual violence

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.

huckleberryrk's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I loved this book so much. It’s bonkers and I absolutely adore it. When I learned what the “precious substance” was I totally lost my mind.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Violence, and Medical trauma

takarakei's review

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Chronic illness and Grief

Minor: Drug use, Medical content, Murder, and Medical trauma