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meowster's review
dark
mysterious
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Good but nothing more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Drug use, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death, Mental illness, Rape, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Body shaming and Grief
johnlock's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I really enjoyed this! It was really good, up until the end, which felt simultaneously rushed and like it could have been condensed. It wasn’t enough to put me off the book entirely, but it did sour my enjoyment slightly. Still, it is very enjoyable, and if it sounds like something you would enjoy I highly recommend it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Medical content, Infidelity, Infertility, Grief, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Murder, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Colonisation
It’s about a woman who is forcibly assigned to an asylum by her manipulative husband after a graphic stillbirth, and is traumatized as a result. There’s also a semi-graphic rape scene about midway through.justagirlwithabook's review
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Savage Instinct takes on a really interesting feminist perspective of the woman and events surrounding Mary Ann Cotton, a tried and convicted English serial killer from the mid-late 1800s. The story is told through the perspective of a fiction character, Clara, whose husband is really absolutely everything that any self-respecting woman would completely despise: he's misogynistic, abusive, manipulative, and self-seeking. His marriage to Clara is simply a means to an end; she is to be a doting, perfect wife and fulfill all her wifely duties with obedience and without complaint, and when her grandmother dies, he'll come into a large inheritance and his life will be perfect as he climbs the social ladder. Any actions on her part that are contrary to this vision, and she's accused of being mental unstable and threatened with the asylum.
At the start of the story, we discover that Clara has suffered through her own kind of trauma and reacted in a way that anyone would. As she arrives home from a few stints in a couple different asylums, her carriage is greeted by a crowd which, in turn, is welcoming the arrival of Mary Ann Cotton, a woman who supposedly killed many of her own children and husbands in an effort to claim insurance money and thus better her life. Clara's curiosity gets the better of her, and in the guise of being charitable, begins visiting with Cotton. Clara's husband's actions and manipulation come to light, and she begins to embark along a path that she won't be able to turn back from (with the guidance of Cotton).
What I didn't love:
- The first part of the story was a little bit bumpy, writing wise; it could've used an editor's hand in smoothing out some of the disconnect and disjointed descriptions. I continued to read though, and as the story moved along, it seemed the author had found their groove and the writing flowed a bit more naturally.
- Clara's character was also a bit bumpy at the start -- we see her as a very delicate and meek woman at the start, very traumatized by her experiences, but there are times throughout the story when her actions are contradictory to the character we were introduced to. She seems to go from meek to courageous in waves and I think her development could've been better written over the course of the story.
- There was a small blurb towards the end about Victorian England and Mary Ann Cotton but it was very brief and followed by a list of recommended reading, which is great, but I would've appreciated a bit more on what aspects of the story truly were historically accurate (including general historical information on the inequality of women, the role of asylums in society, etc.) and what things were written with a bit of liberty.
What I did love:
+ I did know some about Mary Ann Cotton before diving into the story and really enjoyed seeing this historical character from a different perspective.
+ I enjoyed how Mary Ann Cotton's character fed us information that led us to really doubt what was true, what had really happened, and what was just lies and manipulation.
+ I, for the most part, was able to envision this Victorian London decently well and, though I find myself fuming at the male characters and the things they said and did, this remained true to the time period. (I would never wish to ever travel back in time to this time period - I don't know how it could've been anything but miserable for the vast majority of women or anyone really who wasn't a wealthy white man).
Mixed feelings (Spoilers!)
~ I had some mixed feelings about the end of the story. I didn't love this cyclical nature of the ending ... finding ourself in the same place we were to begin with. Clara tried to do what she could to escape under an authoritative husband and live as a free woman in society, but instead, she ended up in the same position as she started: in need of a husband to provide for her. I was hopeful that Clara would be the one to get out, to truly be free. Her husband's death felt a bit like a cop-out. Part of me thought, "Well, that was sort of nice (?) of Mary to sort of 'help out her friend, Clara' even after she was gone, in her own way." But then I also thought that this was just an easy way to dispose of her husband so Clara could free herself, sort of, without having to also resort to murder ... but then we find ourselves at the end where she's basically set her mind to resorting to murder. I sort of liked that twist, but then at the same time just felt sad for her. Like I said, mixed feelings.
Overall, this was a fast-paced and I think an interesting read. I'd probably rate it anywhere between an arbitrary 3-4 stars.
Thank you to Inkshares and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
At the start of the story, we discover that Clara has suffered through her own kind of trauma and reacted in a way that anyone would. As she arrives home from a few stints in a couple different asylums, her carriage is greeted by a crowd which, in turn, is welcoming the arrival of Mary Ann Cotton, a woman who supposedly killed many of her own children and husbands in an effort to claim insurance money and thus better her life. Clara's curiosity gets the better of her, and in the guise of being charitable, begins visiting with Cotton. Clara's husband's actions and manipulation come to light, and she begins to embark along a path that she won't be able to turn back from (with the guidance of Cotton).
What I didn't love:
- The first part of the story was a little bit bumpy, writing wise; it could've used an editor's hand in smoothing out some of the disconnect and disjointed descriptions. I continued to read though, and as the story moved along, it seemed the author had found their groove and the writing flowed a bit more naturally.
- Clara's character was also a bit bumpy at the start -- we see her as a very delicate and meek woman at the start, very traumatized by her experiences, but there are times throughout the story when her actions are contradictory to the character we were introduced to. She seems to go from meek to courageous in waves and I think her development could've been better written over the course of the story.
- There was a small blurb towards the end about Victorian England and Mary Ann Cotton but it was very brief and followed by a list of recommended reading, which is great, but I would've appreciated a bit more on what aspects of the story truly were historically accurate (including general historical information on the inequality of women, the role of asylums in society, etc.) and what things were written with a bit of liberty.
What I did love:
+ I did know some about Mary Ann Cotton before diving into the story and really enjoyed seeing this historical character from a different perspective.
+ I enjoyed how Mary Ann Cotton's character fed us information that led us to really doubt what was true, what had really happened, and what was just lies and manipulation.
+ I, for the most part, was able to envision this Victorian London decently well and, though I find myself fuming at the male characters and the things they said and did, this remained true to the time period. (I would never wish to ever travel back in time to this time period - I don't know how it could've been anything but miserable for the vast majority of women or anyone really who wasn't a wealthy white man).
Mixed feelings (Spoilers!)
~ I had some mixed feelings about the end of the story.
Overall, this was a fast-paced and I think an interesting read. I'd probably rate it anywhere between an arbitrary 3-4 stars.
Thank you to Inkshares and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Rape, Physical abuse, and Murder
Minor: Blood, Child death, and Confinement
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