Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

28 reviews

olivebleu's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Violence, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Cursing, Blood, Gore, Animal death, Alcohol, Body horror, Rape, Death, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship

mmc_librarian's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Grief, Physical abuse, Animal death, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual harassment, Blood, Death, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide, and Misogyny

Minor: Ableism

astridrv's review against another edition

As with Migrations, it took me a few chapters to get into the voice - something about the overtly rebelious tone always initially irks me. And then, somehow, magic happens: a scene, a paragraph, an image of utter awareness and connection to the natural world, a burst of intense emotion, and I'm hooked. Can't stop reading. Inti, like Franny, stays with me in between pages. The writing is poetic as fuck, and yes, the story could be more restrained, less dramatic. But so what? We are alive in this raw rare miracle and Charlotte McConaghy not only gets that but also shares it on an instinctive level. She might say, from her wild parts to ours.

That said, I have issues with the way the theme of sexual abuse, domestic violence, and PTSD was portrayed in here. It feels unnuanced, and one character especially felt like a metaphorical device at times more than a person. I'm increasingly upset about how their arc ends. In attempting to do three things at once, I feel like this book was mostly successful as an eco-fiction work (although I raised my eyebrow at

giving birth in a snowy forest

), rather unconvincing as a murder mystery, and widely immature as a commentary on misogynistic violence and PTSD.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault

Moderate: Blood, Murder, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Misogyny

Minor: Grief, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

allyem_reads's review

2.5

4.04 CAWPILE 

Meh? Not a great start to the year, but I'll deal. I knew this kind of story was out of my comfort zone anyway, so I'm not completely surprised that it just wasn't the book for me. At least I read it and knocked one more book off of my TBR!

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Violence, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Death, Dysphoria, Grief, Murder, and Sexual harassment

chldshsambino's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Murder, Animal death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

zogg's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Sexual violence, and Death

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

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

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

kelseekayjorg'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

✨Once There Were Wolves✨

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!!!

This book was gorgeous!! It was such a beautiful story and it was written is some of the prettiest prose I’ve heard in a while! I listened to this on audiobook and I really enjoyed my time.

Inti is a biologist who is working on a wolf reintegration program in the Scottish Highlands. She lives with her twin sister, Aggie, who has some pretty severe mental issues due to an abusive ex-partner. She also meets many of the locals during her time in Scotland, many of which don’t like her due to the fear that bringing wolves back into the ecosystem will cause their sheep to be in danger. One day, a local man goes missing and is soon found dead and Inti’s wolves are the first to blame. Was it really the wolves who killed this man, or was it a crime committed by man, more specifically the man she thinks she is falling in love with? 

While this book has dark elements of abuse, domestic violence, rape, and mistrust, it also is full of sisterly love and learning that not everyone is a bad person. Some of the scenes in this story were pretty graphic and dark, but that made the lighthearted and sweet scenes that much more tender. 

I highly recommend this book! Not only was it a little bit of a mystery, it was a beautiful picture of the human condition and overcoming horrific trials from the past.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

hefftbundle's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I wasn't sure if I liked this book until the end. It's much darker than I typically enjoy, but by the end, I loved it. It is painful, emotional, hard to read and so well written.

It is an intense story about humanness built around the deep importance of conservation. Learning to trust and grow after extreme trauma is also a centerpiece of this book. 

You will probably guess part of the ending, but it still has elements that will surprise you and make you weep. Again, incredibly well written. Will leave you aching and hopeful. What a wild ride.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Dementia, Gore, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Rape, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Bullying, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Animal death

Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, Cursing, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Medical content, Misogyny, and Sexual content

Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Vomit, and Drug use