Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

180 reviews

fkshg8465's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.0

I expected more, and I find myself thinking about this book even after finishing it, in the wrongest ways...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Murder

mbomersheim's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.5

I think it’s so fitting that I read this book while in Scotland!

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy is a fiction novel following Inti, a team member for a project that aims to rewild Scotland by reintroducing wolves into the Highlands in an area where the locals are not too pleased with their work. The plot starts picking up when a farmer is found dead and Inti gets swept into the drama of the town and protecting the wolves she released. I don’t think I was the intended audience for this book; it just wasn’t for me. The pacing was slow, and I didn’t care for the characters. Maybe it is because I have been reading a lot of fantasy recently, but I just wanted more plot. This being said, I know many people rate this book highly, so maybe I was just missing something. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Animal death, Blood, Death, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Sexual violence, Death of parent, Murder, Stalking, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Abortion

corncake's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Death, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Grief, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Blood, and Violence

Minor: Child abuse, Abandonment, Medical content, Confinement, and Gun violence

readingjean's review

adventurous inspiring mysterious 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? No

4.25

I rarely get pulled into a book like I did with this book. Finished it almost overnight. The protagonists beautiful relationship with nature really made me want to be in the story and I found it a very interesting theme in light of climate crisis discussions (is reïntroducinf key stone predators part of the solution?) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse

oceanxbluess's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Dementia, Death of parent, and Abortion

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

deecolfs's review

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Oh, man, did this book grab my insides and twist them all around.
I went through a whole plethora of emotions while reading this. It is so raw, it hits the nail in the head every time. Sometimes it leaves you with a satisfied feeling, sometimes it rips your heart out and stomps on it.
I can't remember the last time I read something like this, but I know without a doubt that it'll stay with me for a long while.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Animal death, and Murder

Minor: Sexual violence

10stormlight's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Rape, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Death, and Gore

Minor: Infidelity, Mental illness, Infertility, and Cursing

sincerelygracec's review

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

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

5.0

A phenomenal work of fiction. Heart breaking and beautiful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Rape, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, Blood, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Death, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Pregnancy, Grief, and Mental illness

Minor: Alcohol and Drug use

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