Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

51 reviews

crazytourists_books's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

4.0

This book follows all the patterns of the first one: emotional narration, a conservation sub-plot (through which the main plot unfolds), with various weak points and an ending that was happier than I expected. 
Like the first time around, did I care about these things? Not really. The nareation cast a spell on me and had me sighing and gasping more than once... 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

navayiota's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I originally saved this cause it was recommended by Leena Norms for spooky October novels, and spooky it was, although not in the way I had expected. I ended up picking it up cause it was narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, and I really enjoyed her previous work narrating Kate Quinn novels. I didn't expect it to stay with me the way it did. I am in shock. Visceral is the perfect way to describe this writing. McConaghy got me to feel every light touch and savage hit taken by the characters. She tied every aspect of the story up in a neat bow that lovingly punched me in the gut at every opportunity. I refuse to believe that a human can write like this, and yet it's so painfully obvious that a human wrote it, because what other species could describe the human experience in such a vivid way? My heart aches for these characters, who are painfully fleshed out with all their jagged edges and ugly sides. I wish more people read this book. I can't wait to read more but must stop myself from binging anything else she has written cause it just wouldn't be enough. May her fingers never tire of typing or holding a pen, may her mind never cease creating and may her soul experience every joy the world has to offer. Simply incredible.

I can't believe that I finally encountered a book where the pregnancy trope is treated with justice and respect. I was in awe at the mastery with which she ended the story, the way she made it all make sense. Every major or subplot is a full circle and that feels incredible to me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, and Dementia

Minor: Drug abuse

aeola's review

Despite the atmospheric setting and the heroine that has an unusual perception of the world, I found the story itself to be rather boring. The author uses over-dramatization and shock content to negatively portray ordinary situations. This excessive use of shock content have felt unrealistic and detracted from my enjoyment of the story. 

The heroine's decisions made her professionalism as a zoologist and her intelligence in general questionable. Despite the fact that the heroine should be an expert in these areas, I felt that the author had little knowledge or understanding of nature, animals, and ecology. This lack of expertise have made the story less believable or authentic and have affected my ability to connect with and believe in the character. 

Overall, the book did not meet my expectations in terms of character development, plot, and the portrayal of themes that were promised in the book's description.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

cuddlewithbooks's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

2.25

There is so much to this book. It touches on so many graphic topics, I would highly suggest finding a list of trigger warnings before trying this book out. 

I'm not sure what to say, I picked this up on a whim thinking I would enjoy biologists in Scotland but it was so much darker than that. Obviously I needed to know what was next but it was so graphic and sometimes felt unnecessary. Though I can see the power in looking and feeling uncomfortable. 

I just didn't like it, especially in regards to the treatment of the animals in the book. If you don't like animal deaths, I really would not pick this one up. 

It's for someone but it's not for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child abuse, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent

mel_j's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexism, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

alexandrathegreat89's review

adventurous challenging dark 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

I went into this book thinking it would be a moody murder mystery that explored the tensions that arise between conservation efforts and traditional/longstanding ways of living in Scotland. It was not. 

This was more an exploration of the capacity have have to be awful one another with a heavy focus on the abuse women face at the hands of theen supposed to love them the most.

Having previously lived in Scotland I was hoping to feel a sense of the beauty and wildness of that country while reading this, but it just wasn't there for me. 

That being said, the writing was compelling and despite wanting to look away I was invested in finding out how it all ended to finish the book. Some of the tropes at the very end to be a bit disjointed and the last 30 pages or so felt like I was ready a completely different book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Dementia, and Grief

_annika__'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, and Gaslighting

fluffernutterfriday's review

dark emotional informative mysterious fast-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

3.5

I lapped this book up like a wolf drinking from a stream. I'm a sucker for alive writing right now, and this writing is alive. The story moved quickly, and I read the book in functionally two sittings. I had to stop in the middle for our book club meeting, and it drove me nuts that I had to wait. The suspense hooked me in so tightly that I spent an hour and a half before work reading the next day, to the point that I didn't exercise or eat breakfast or shower. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

carolinefran's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Dementia, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, and Alcohol

maccamac's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Grief, and Pregnancy