Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

5 reviews

alexisgarcia's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

i absolutely loved this. i had no idea what to expect going in and i think that is the best way to read this. the sisters' relationship was amazing, the plot was well-rounded and fulfilled, and the ending was perfect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Abortion, Alcohol, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

picklespoirot's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Sexual violence and Sexual assault

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, and Alcohol

pandalesque's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative 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

This book really hit a nerve with me. I loved it even though it ripped my heart out multiple times...
As so often I didn't love the split in dual timelines. I listened to it on audio. I really enjoyed the narrator, she did convincing accents and has a soothing voice.
Love the insight on wolves and enviornmentalism.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Grief, and Animal death

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexism, Suicide, and Physical abuse

Minor: Violence, Dementia, and Addiction

hkropp77's review

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious 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

4.5

So much happened in this book! It isn’t just an examination of reintroducing wolves to Scotland- it also explores family dynamics, local politics, mental illness, sisterly relationships,

domestic violence, child birth, trauma and murder.

I loved that part of the book because it was more like real life. Inti’s passion was wolves, but her life was shaped by so much more than that. Overall a great read - I do wish there was a little more information on reintroduction projects, but that’s likely because I need to do more research on this myself! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Animal death, Rape, and Murder

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Addiction

anonymous_blobfish's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

3.75/5 ⭐️ 

TW: domestic violence, family violence, sexual assault, animal death

This story started slow but inevitably hooked me. We follow Inti and, indirectly, her twin sister Aggie who have moved to Scotland where Inti is working to reintroduce wolves to the wild highlands. Both have suffered immensely up until this point and carry with them heavy baggage that is slowly unpacked as the story progresses.

We meet many interesting characters in the highlands and deal with their mixed emotional responses to the wolf reintroduction. Along the way, a murder mystery unfolds as well as a delicate power struggle between scared locals and a passionate Inti who is determined to convert them to her brand of wilderness rehabilitation.

I was captivated by this book, sometimes uncomfortably so. I don’t think I particularly liked any of the characters, main or secondary (the latter of which were a bit underdeveloped truth be told) and the story felt a bit formulaic at times (in the “ooooh a mystery, bet you can’t guess, wait you guessed, just kidding - you didn’t, or did you” kinda way). I did however enjoy the depth of emotion painted into these characters which simply flowed off the page. I would love to see this have a movie adaption so that there is room for certain characters to be given more flesh and feeling to them.

I definitely think it’s important to note the TWs in this story as they were quite confronting at times (which may have also dulled the shine for me a little) however it’s still well worth a read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Animal death, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Alcoholism and Addiction