Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Shark Heart: A Love Story by Emily Habeck

32 reviews

mementomoriiv's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood

Moderate: Physical abuse

stefcornell's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A

4.25

The way this book is written is intriguing and entertaining. For folks that have been a caretaker for a family member with an illness, this book is heart wrenching. While the illnesses portrayed in the book aren't your typical ones, they feel reminiscent of real illnesses.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

ashes_to_ashs's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious fast-paced

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

4.75

Shark heart is a novel with beautiful poetry and a unique presentation on one’s take on life and the tragedies than can arise in it. While the tone of the book is very bittersweet, it serves as a reminder that with every heart wrenching episode of life , there can come one of redemption and reason to live. 

The animalistic diseases are strange to say the least, but perhaps are meant to symbolically represent any condition that results loss of a precious life— which allows readers to connect to the personal stories on a different level. 

Read this book in a day. Highly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Physical abuse

tabookish's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

wowsmeows's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

"In this evanescent moment, the love of his life and the moon became indistinguishable from each other, casting everything Lewis feared about the future in the real but temporary light off goodness. Time suspended,
Lewis promised himself to always remember Wren like this, a masterpiece..."

Shark Heart follows the story of newlyweds Lewis and Wren. All seems well in their relationship until Lewis receives an unexpected diagnosis - he's mutating into a great white shark.

I went into the story thinking it would be just linear story following the main characters as they go through the strange process of the mutation, but I was very wrong. We find out about Lewis' condition within the first 10 pages, and we are also told that animal mutations are normal in this world within the book. The story is told through excerpts from a play, flashbacks and poetry. When I initially picked up the book I thought the concept sounded really interesting, so was surprised when it turned out to be more artsy than a traditional story. 

Shark Heart is an artistic exploration of grief, loss and how people change, sometimes literally. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

agucwa's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness and Grief

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

mxyfrzn's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Abortion, and Pandemic/Epidemic

mdavis26's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

emilywemily6's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-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? Yes

4.5

This was weird and intriguing and I couldn’t put this book down. I loved how the book has some theatrical scenes sprinkled in. I could really see how Lewis and Wren fell for each other, they loved each other so much. I loved the prose and the questions it brought up (explicitly or implicitly) about love, change, and terminal illness. While I appreciated Angela’s story, I wish it hadn’t felt so separate from Lewis and Wren’s story; it kind of took me out of the book a little, especially with how much time was spent on Angela’s life before Wren was born. Though by the end of that section I saw how it was all connected; I wish the author had taken a different direction in connecting these stories together. And I loved the ending but wanted more! I will think about this book for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

kase1190's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicidal thoughts