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kimveach's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Bullying, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Rape, Sexual assault, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Stalking, Alcohol, Blood, Chronic illness, Child death, Grief, Terminal illness, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Medical content
kcmg710's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I’ve fallen in love with the characters and can’t imagine continuing life without them. I’m actually grieving finishing this book.
The writing was so beautiful. I loved every minute of this book.
I’ll admit it was abit tricky keeping up with everybody’s different stories because of the multiple POVS? (I think that’s the right term) however these are my favourite type of books, I love piecing it all together. It kinda reminds me of the starless sea (which I also loved) but if you found yourself not enjoying them maybe this book isn’t for you.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Death
Moderate: Rape, Animal cruelty, Child death, Physical abuse, Animal death, Incest, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Racism and Sexism
jodar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
The setting is the 19th century, post-Darwin’s publications. The local pub fulfils today’s role of social media – spreading information and rumour, eliciting speculation and stories that attempt to understand and entertain. There are ordinary people who focus on folk-story, but there are the more educated as well, who grapple with social and natural/medical challenges from the point of view of newer knowledge and concepts. Sometimes the latter, though, seem to me to edge into 21st-century sensibilities, bordering anachronism. All the same, characters are portrayed in an engaging way, and their various conflicted emotions develop realistically.
Least successful to me was the nebulous, mystical, Charon-like character of Quietly, saving or taking those imperilled by the river. A metaphor I think for humans’ lack of complete control over nature and its powers, but a metaphor that sits uneasily with the tenor of the novel as a whole.
The resolutions at the end of the novel are a bit clichéd, though I feel that that is probably fine for a novel set in Victorian England!
Moderate: Violence, Death, and Toxic relationship
emmagreenwood's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Ableism, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Racism, and Child death
Moderate: Animal death, Gaslighting, Suicide, Bullying, Toxic relationship, and Animal cruelty
cookiecat73's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Medical content, Misogyny, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Child abuse, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Murder, Suicide, Ableism, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Child death, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Death, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, and Domestic abuse
cutepatzie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Deadnaming, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Blood, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Miscarriage, Sexism, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Child death, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
jenn_bookstitcher's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
bibliophilemama's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Rape, Animal death, and Racism