Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Witch of Tin Mountain by Paulette Kennedy

11 reviews

tangleroot_eli's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

This book has an intriguing premise and gets off to a good start. The settings are beautifully described, and some of the minor characters are quite vividly drawn. But the vast similarities between Deirdre and Gracelynn, as well as the large chunks of Deirdre’s story that we're told in Gracelynn’s sections made me feel like I was reading the same book twice at once. I really liked how the story(ies) resolve, but I definitely slogged through the middle.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal death, Infidelity, Sexism, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Murder, Alcohol, Death, Drug use, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Classism, Confinement, Racism, Stalking, and Violence

Minor: Domestic abuse, Suicide, Abortion, Cancer, Fatphobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Gun violence

Graphic: Religious trauma Moderate: Slut shaming

georgiabee's review

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I really enjoyed this book. The switching POVs weaved together interesting story elements and illustrated the parallels between the characters despite the 50 year time difference. The characters voices are very similar, but I found that the switch between Deirdre's 3rd person narration and Gracelynn’s 1st person narration made it easier for me to keep details straight between the two storylines and I never had to go back to figure out whose chapter I was reading. While it did require a little suspension of disbelief,

I did like how it turned out that all the women were tied together by blood, and connected by their experiences with Bellflower.

The writing is beautiful! This book gave me a new appreciation for the dictionary/wikipedia capabilities on Kindle — I got to learn about different herbs and gained some shiny new vocab words! Also, gay witches!!!!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Violence, Lesbophobia, Sexism, and Racism

eadrianschmitz's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Incest, Violence, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Emotional abuse, Grief, Police brutality, Death, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, and Physical abuse

artemishi's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Characters: 9, I think Dierdre felt the most real as a character- being both tough and flawed. But the dual POV storyline with Gracelynn helped give us perspective on Dierdre's evolution as a person. Each character felt like their own person, and most of them contributed to plot and/or atmosphere, so I'd say they were additive. 

Atmosphere: 9, between the colloquialisms, the realistic mass hysteria, the wild weather, and the ever-present threat of poverty in every character's life, the atmosphere was very much on point. As was the tension. I live at the foothills of the Appalachians, not the Ozarks of Arkansas in which the story is set- so I only have vague understanding of the crags and deep hollers and wending rivers that shape the geography of this story. However, I could picture it pretty darn well. 

Writing: 10, I thought the writing felt effortless, with a good balance of internal dialogue narration and external dialogue. The villain had motivations and foibles, and at times a humanity that made his monstrous nature even more unsettling. I wouldn't say I found it scary, but disturbing in that "people are so easily manipulated" way. I also felt the romantic tension well, and the representation felt organic. 

Plot: 8, the overall plot was on par with expectations, though at times the pacing dragged for lack of investment in current storyline. I think that might be a common issue with multiple POV/timeline stories. Nevertheless, by about 70% in I was hooked and had difficulty putting it down. 

Intrigue: 8, I did think the ending wrapped up too neatly and happily- but then, there was plenty of suffering for the MCs before their epilogue so perhaps I'm just mean. I expected some very end hat-tip suggestion of freaky events, but alas. 

Logic: 9, the characters all acted in accordance with their motives and fears, which seemed generally along the lines of anger, pride, fear, short-sightedness....all the very human things. There's terrible trauma and tremendous grit, and nobody was purely a villain or purely a hero. 

Enjoyment: 9, For the most part, I felt engaged and intrigued by the story as well as the atmosphere. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry

Moderate: Misogyny

Minor: Sexual harassment, Police brutality, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Racism, Sexual assault, Vomit, Violence, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Child death, Blood, and Body horror

greenclovers75's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child death, Violence, and Sexual content

readmorbookz's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Alcoholism, Addiction, Death, Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Child abuse, Homophobia, Racism, and Self harm

cowmingo's review

dark tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Rape, Death, and Violence

Minor: Incest

roaringmamalion's review

dark hopeful tense fast-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

5.0

A solid, witchy, historical read with the usual strong female overtones of witchy fiction. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Terminal illness, Rape, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Sexism, Infertility, and Violence

mhairi_reads's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Do yourself an favour - DON’T READ THE BLURB - IT CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!

A definite 5 star read❤️! If you love yourself a witchy tale I would highly recommend Paulette Kennedy’s The Witch of Tin Mountain.

Steeped in Ozark folklore this story was hauntingly beautiful and atmospheric. A fantastic work of historical fiction, dipped in horror and fantasy. Steeped in witchcraft, dark folklore and full of powerful women this book is bound to keep you turning the page and will stay with you long after you closed the book.

An unforgettable story of family, witchcraft, love and power. I read this bad boy in two days. This is a story you don’t want to miss.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

POV: Dual - Deirdre (YEAR) & Gracelynn (YEAR)

⚠️ Content Warnings: As provided by the author. References to child abuse and neglect (including sexual and physical abuse). Sexual assault, dubious sexual consent, self-harm/suicide, addiction, alcoholism, death and dying, racism, homophobia, murder, attempted murder, fire/arson, and abortion. 

Adoption, and childbirth are also mentioned within this novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual content, Bullying, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Alcohol

Minor: Abortion, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Infertility, and Child abuse

velsbooknook's review

dark emotional mysterious

4.5

This book follows three generations of women in Ozarks, Arkansas. It switches between the POV of Deirdree in 1881 and Gracelynn in 1931.
The setting was absolutely stunning. The description of characters, weather and nature was so well done and I felt really immersed in the story and world. I loved the magic the witches used and it fitted perfectly into the setting.
The main antagonist was very well written too. He was evil and manipulative but also not too unlikeable in my opinion. The whole character cast was very diverse and the reader also get some queer romance which I absolutely loved!
I was very surprised that I enjoyed this book that much but all three women were equally likeable and strong, the beautiful atmosphere and setting and vivid writing made me really enjoy this book!
It comes out February 1st 2023 and I'm sure I'll grab a physical copy myself. Highly recommend! 

Thank you to Paulette Kennedy, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Sexual violence, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Violence