Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Dark Earth by Rebecca Stott

6 reviews

chb's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, and Death

aceofknives's review

adventurous emotional 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: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Blood, Colonisation, Medical content, Alcohol, Violence, War, and Death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Misogyny, and Child abuse

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, and Sexism

kaitlinlovesbooks's review

dark mysterious sad 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Death of parent, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

golem's review

5.0

So intense and so good. Wonderful as an audiobook--thrilling and tense and satisfying. I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much had I not listened to it. I very much appreciate the low-key queer (f/f) and even lower-key m/f romances and the possibly non-binary soothsayer, as well as the Black representation and many mentions of African heritage in Roman/post-Roman Britain.

I found the ending

too abrupt--what happened to all of Vort's other men??--and also I wasn't keen on the didactic zoom-out relating the book to all of women's history in Britain.

I didn't like this book because I think that British women are unmemorialized or neglected by scholarship, an authorial point of view that will annoy many of us whose ancestors did not colonize the whole world, steal its tombs and papers, and teach it British history. As a book about a very particular historical mystery--how did that Saxon brooch get into the Roman ruins of Londinium? How did misfits, migrants, and queer people survive in post-Roman Britain?--it is magnificent. It is also a fantastic story about trauma, ghosts, and love and survival in ruins. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Violence and Sexual harassment

Minor: Sexual violence

ameliaferg's review

hopeful slow-paced

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

3.0

I wanted to really love this book and I did at first. I find post-Roman Britain to be an extremely interesting time period. I loved the idea of the book and immediately bought it. The book started well and I had high hopes for the adventures that the sisters would face. However, the book really slowed in the middle third with not much really happening. I appreciated the focus on ‘kin’ and community but it didn’t feel like there was much drive to the plot. The final part of the story was then completely rushed and I was left slightly confused as to what happened. Great premise but failed execution. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Violence

Minor: Rape, Murder, and Torture

victoriafrombookclub's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

2.75

The blend of history and folklore is really intriguing, and I very much enjoyed the centrality ofIsisterhood. I did find the writing to be more telling than showing. The characters didn't feel developed enough to me.

For example, Isla is so determined that she is the curse and that she needs to leave everyone. While she does have a mysterious dream of her mother, it seems very sudden that she gives up her convictions. I wanted more of the emotional processing that went in to her realizing that she didn't have to sacrifice herself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Violence

Moderate: Misogyny

Minor: Slavery and War