Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Pine by Francine Toon

26 reviews

liltakeawaygirl's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Grief, and Bullying

Moderate: Death, Murder, and Alcoholism

fabelfuchs's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• 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: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Animal death, and Violence

gaptoothdummy's review

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

Minor: Animal death, Murder, and Death of parent

elysianbud's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

3.5

I tried reading this ages ago and DNF'd it. Picked it up again and gave it another chance and actually really enjoyed myself. Creepy and mysterious. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Grief, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Bullying, Blood, Death, Addiction, Alcohol, and Animal death

siobhanward's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

 

This was a solid read but it almost felt unfinished. There was so much build up and then things were resolved and there was nothing... No actual consequences for the crime or even much of a resolution beyond "this is what happened and this is who did it." Toon was a solid storyteller for the majority of the book, so it was a bit of a surprise when the book just kind of ended. The atmosphere was creepy and the whole book kept me feeling uneasy. I just wish the ending had been as strong as the rest!

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent and Bullying

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Violence, Alcohol, Animal death, and Bullying

Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Murder, Kidnapping, Vomit, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content

asourceoffiction's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Pine is brilliantly atmospheric, quietly building tension and mystery with its beautiful descriptions of a wild, untamed landscape and the wild characters within. I liked the Scottish idioms; they felt authentic without being hard to understand and it anchored the book in its location.

The story was actually quite slow, but it still drew me in completely. I couldn't put it down, but for long stretches there's also a sense that not much is happening. That combined with some heavy emotional background for the characters gave the whole book a quiet sense of dread. I was tense pretty much from the start.

The end felt a little abrupt, though it did fit with the tone of the book. Perhaps I was hoping for more resolution to help lift the tension I'd been feeling. But still this is a great thriller that packs a really emotional punch.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Death of parent

_gess_reads_'s review

mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.25

First 75% was pretty slow, however, the setting and tone are beautifully described so the slow pace didn't bother me too much. The mix of crime + supernatural + wicca was interesting, though I feel like their presence stayed on a surface level, instead of going in depth or even focussing on one aspect which would have added to the story, I think. The end feels a bit rushed, definitely could have elaborate further than just

Lauren takes after her mother and Niall went to therapy

. Enjoyed it overall though, love the spooky Highlands vibes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Murder, Alcoholism, and Death of parent

Minor: Pedophilia

odrib's review

dark mysterious sad slow-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Addiction, Animal death, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Alcohol, Murder, Alcoholism, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit

thenovelbookshelf's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

4.0

An eerie thrilling mystery set in a small village n the Scottish Highlands.
  
On a Halloween night Lauren and her father, Niall,  pick up a woman stumbling on the road. In the morning, she's gone. 
  
Lauren feels a familiarness to the woman, who supernaturally turns up at odd times. Niall drinks to forget. Forget that his wife is gone. To forget the whispers of the village about him.
  
When a local woman goes missing in familiar circumstances, Lauren looks for answers, to find her friend, and her mother.
  
I found this a gripping, eerie, thriller that feels like a fog starts to fall and becomes heavier with each chapter until the very end. The build up to the ending was long, and the ending abrupt, but I found myself holding my breath and thinking I was in that village.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Bullying