Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

The Witch of Tin Mountain by Paulette Kennedy

14 reviews

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

donnanoble's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Religious bigotry, and Sexual assault

Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Child death, Abortion, and Classism

dae_as's review

emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Child abuse, Sexism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Homophobia

Minor: Sexual assault and Pedophilia

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

teatunesandtales's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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: Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Child death, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Infertility, Hate crime, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Infidelity, and Misogyny

Minor: Abortion and Classism

bellebookcorner's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring 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? Yes

4.5

“Life’s just one burden after another, till we die. But it’s the happy things – the good things – that make it all worthwhile.”

Read this if you like;
• Witches & Demon
• Strong Female Heroine
• Gothic atmosphere
• Magical Realism

I really enjoyed the author’s debut novel; ‘Parting the Veil’. So I was very excited to read this book and suffice to say I thoroughly enjoy reading this one! 

The plot is told in multiple POVs and dual timeline, which followed three different women whose unknowingly interconnected with one another by blood and the same enemy.

A well written story and well-crafted world building that brings out the gothic atmosphere throughout the story with the mysterious whispers and curses that will raise your goosebumps.
The characters are likeable but also flawed which makes them so realistic. I easily connected with them and also adore how they try to survive in those times. 

There’s only one thing that makes me didn't full enjoy reading this book, it’s how similar both female main characters. Both sounds similar since they are experiencing the same troubles and fears but in different time which makes it difficult to differentiate them at times. 

The ending is wrapped up nicely with that epilogue which lets the readers have a glimpse of how the characters lived their life. 

Overall, this is a remarkable story about love, family and magic. It also has a great LGBTQ+ representation and covered a lot of heavy topics inside.
This book is highly recommended for those looking for a historical fiction with witchy elements and powerful women!
I’ll definitely look out for new books from this author in the future!

“There’s all kinds of love, and one ain’t any better than the other.”

I received an advanced review copy for free through Netgalley, thank you to the author and Let’s Talk Books Promo for having me on this book tour. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Abortion, Child death, and Bullying

redheadorganist's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Stalking, Murder, Lesbophobia, Cursing, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Pedophilia and Rape

rylee2157's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.75

I had this book in my TBR list waiting for it to release, and I checked my email the to find it was a first reads pick from Amazon. I read this in one sitting and it was fantastic.

" Hidden inside his grandfather’s trunk, the boy remains. And the book remembers. "

The dual timeline is set in 1881 and 1931 and follows two girls. I liked how the magic wasn't the main focus considering it was the premise of the book. The author did a great job of explaining everything as it went along (medicine, tinctures, a succubus etc.) without making it feel like a textbook.

" What the hell kind of name is Bellflower, anyway? "

It was almost a fairytale ending which wasn't bad but I wanted to be emotionally destroyed after reading it. Overall, I think it was a great book, it isn't advertised as a queer book but that is the underlying plot in some areas. It worked well, but again was a bit fairytale.

" “Life’s just one burden after another, till we die. But it’s the happy things—the good things—that make it all worthwhile. Things like kisses.” "

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, and Homophobia

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Abortion, Bullying, Child death, Medical trauma, Rape, Death of parent, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Murder, and Cursing