Reviews tagging 'Classism'

The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper

37 reviews

mollymadworld's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Heartbreaking, strong woman fighting to survive in a world not built for them

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Slavery, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Cursing, Grief, Incest, Kidnapping, Murder, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Confinement, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Deportation, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Abortion, Death of parent, Drug use, Child abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Rape, and Suicide

secunda's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative 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

4.75

This book is incredible! As a Classics student, I’m really put off by historical fiction with glaring  inaccuracies, but I didn’t sense any within this book. It obviously reminded me a lot of walking through Pompeii, but also of reading Ovid’s Amores as well. If you’re a fan of Pompeii, Ovid, Roman Comedy, or women in antiquity, I highly recommend giving this a read. My only critique was that the dialogue didn’t always feel like what a Roman would say, but based on interviews with the author, that seems to have been intentional.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Death, Trafficking, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Murder

Moderate: Classism, Colonisation, Pedophilia, Xenophobia, Confinement, Abortion, Alcoholism, Cursing, and Death of parent

Minor: Body shaming

eelizard's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Abandonment, Violence, Sexual assault, Confinement, Child death, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Classism, Grief, Drug abuse, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Misogyny, and Mental illness

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

lottselgar's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.75

never felt more attached to a group of women who work in a brothel before

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Body shaming, Death, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Gaslighting, Grief, Abandonment, Abortion, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Death of parent, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

motherofbears's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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? No

4.75

Devastatingly beautiful and sad. You can tell a lot of care went into the research for this book, you get a view into what life was like for slaves in Pompeii (often terrible). I couldn’t put it down and read most of it over a couple days.

I took away a tiny bit because the ending felt a little tied up with a bow, but knowing this is book one of a trilogy makes me hopeful for more development in the future.

This is historical fiction at it’s most literary. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Violence, Classism, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Trafficking, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexism

Moderate: Blood, Miscarriage, Child death, Abortion, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Suicide, and Death of parent

leahkarge's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Classism, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Abortion, Addiction, Ableism, Excrement, Sexual content, Alcohol, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Slavery, Suicide, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Death of parent, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

bookwarm_220's review against another edition

sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Solid storytelling, believable characters, good world building.  There is some emotional texture in these characters that i appreciated, and merits the 5-star rating. A good novel of ancient Pompeii with some plot twists and a bit of a cliff-hanger at the end;  I liked it enough to read the second in the series at some point.  Fans of historical fiction should enjoy this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, and Death

Violence is a pervasive theme.

withlivjones's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

What a start to what I’m sure will be  a stellar trilogy! I initially wasn’t sure that this book would be my thing, but my am I glad to be wrong! 

Elodie Harper does a fantastic job of conjuring up ancient Pompeii, from the lavish parties of high society to the desperation of its poorest inhabitants. The setting is so vivid and exciting and draws you right into the plot. 

Amara is a brilliantly-written protagonist, with a certain amount of complexity and morally-greyness to her that makes her point of view so compelling. Her main priority is protecting herself, but she is forced to question how much she is willing to lose in order to gain some power: her morals? her dignity? friends and first loves? 

There are so many other characters who are very well-written as well, from the loveable to the absolutely terrible excuses for a human being (*cough*felix*cough*). The female characters in particular are more diverse than most books I’ve read, and the complex relationships between them show both female solidarity and rivalry in a society where women have no power. 

I loved this book and I cannot wait to read the next instalment in the trilogy! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Blood, Death, Grief, Murder, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Slavery, Sexual content, and Suicide

Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Trafficking, and Classism

alexared's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Xenophobia, Colonisation, Classism, Death, Violence, and Trafficking

Minor: Pregnancy and Abortion

captainwinter's review

dark emotional medium-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

3.75

It takes a while before the pace picks up and something happens, but once it does, it’s good! Very real, a bit gruesome, and heartbreaking. Would’ve loved to see certain characters more, but I do realise they can’t all have equal screentime…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Suicide, Slavery, Violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Grief, Pregnancy, Classism, and Misogyny