Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Book of the Most Precious Substance by Sara Gran

7 reviews

ellenigrace's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Alcohol, Blood, Murder, Sexual assault, Dementia, and Sexual content

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

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

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