Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Familiars by Stacey Halls

9 reviews

yolanda_h's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, and Confinement

yikeslou'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? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

In case, like me, you're ridden with furious anxiety throughout this book and want a spoiler free reassurance: it all works out. Just you wait and see how!

Anyway let's talk about how Alice was a better husband to Fleetwood throughout that whole book. Every man in this is evil and should get hemorrhoids.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Medical content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Vomit

Moderate: Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Infidelity, and Miscarriage

Minor: Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Sexual content, and Death of parent

Main character is seventeen years old and married to a man a few years older than her, as was common at the time. MC occasionally hints at an instance of sexual abuse in her childhood before discussing it in depth at the end of the book

the_bees_books's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense 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? It's complicated

3.25

If you're interested in the Lancashire witch trials, historical misogyny and historical thrillers, read this! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Infertility, Sexism, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Confinement, and Death

livlostinstereo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Excrement, Miscarriage, Vomit, Medical trauma, and Police brutality

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Infidelity

Minor: Rape

kibiiiariii's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Blood, Infertility, Rape, Ableism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Classism, Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Child death, Gaslighting, and Animal cruelty

chloemakesbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.0

A good story. Could have used a little haircut, and a deeply flawed main character that I don't think I liked... And a heaping dose of classism. I wanted a little more historic in my fiction, I think. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Sexism

Moderate: Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Classism, Child death, Pedophilia, Confinement, and Alcoholism

Minor: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

raemow's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Vomit

andrea_carroll123's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Medical content, Pedophilia, Confinement, and Gore

bybookandbone's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.5

I don't think I have the words to describe everything I loved about The Familiars. Fleetwood is an incredibly sympathetic character. Just as I was getting irritated with her inaction, we discover that she is only 17, been married for four years and is pregnant with four miscarriages behind her. That's just so much for a young person to take. Plus the childhood neglect and abuse... absolutely horrific. 

Throughout the book, Fleetwood has to deal with being seen as nothing more as an interactive uterus in an expensive dress. 
I don't want to say much more than that without spoiling the story, though I wish it had ended with the violent murder of her husband, Richard, and his friend Rodger.

Alice is one of the women accused of witchcraft and Fleetwood's only friend, as well as the only midwife who has actually helped her with her difficult pregnancy. 
Don't be fooled into thinking this book is about the Pendle trials, it's set around them but at the end of the day, it's Fleetwood and Alice's story.

I still wish they ran off together

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, and Infertility

Minor: Abandonment, Body horror, and Confinement