Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

112 reviews

botanicpanic's review

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, and Rape

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Abortion and Death of parent

northernfleabag's review against another edition

dark sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Violence, Murder, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Grief, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, and Animal death

jaedee09's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What a beautiful, tense, emotional story. This book made me feel so many things - anger, love, sadness...strength. At first I wasn't sure about the flashbacks, but quickly came to appreciate how poetic the story was written.

That birth scene was incredibly powerful!

Such a poingant way to blend a story of conservation, family ties, murder, and love.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Animal death, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Murder

Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcohol

charliewhitear's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Mental illness, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, and Rape

sonlight21's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

When I started this book I was not expecting what it would become. This is not a light hearted wilderness book. The emotional journey taken is wild, tense, and dark. There is a lot to learn but also a lot to be aware of before entering. 

At first I found the writing style hard to get into. It felt broken and chopped. I didn't slip into it until the last 60 pages or so. Some of the plot felt broken and missing such as the main relationship. It felt like it was just sprung into existence no feeling or relationship built. 


Please read the content warnings! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Blood, Animal death, Gun violence, Violence, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Cursing, Pregnancy, Murder, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent and Gaslighting

Minor: Hate crime

lovelymisanthrope's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

I received a copy of this book as a gift. 
"Once There Were Wolves" follows Inti Flynn as she arrives in Scotland. Inti is a biologist who has been tasked with introducing wolves back into the remote Highlands in an effort to bring life back into the dying landscape. Unfortunately for her, she receives nothing but pushback and critique from the townspeople. 
This story was intense and heartbreaking as an animal lover. Wolves are natural predators, and because of that, people seem to fear them. When there is a member of the town found dead, everyone is quick to point the blame at the wolves rather than each other. Some moments I found difficult to read because I love animals so deeply, and I felt like the town was being unreasonably cruel towards the wolves, and other animals in general. 
I did not love Inti as a character. There was something about her character that I could not connect to, and it made it difficult for me to become invested in her story. 
I did really enjoy the atmosphere and setting of this story. I felt entirely immersed in the forest and I loved getting to explore more of the Highlands with the characters. 
I am not completely deterred from reading Charlotte McConaghy in the future, but I am not jumping with anticipation either. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Blood, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent

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

alexandriatp's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, and Animal death

Minor: Blood, Death of parent, and Drug use

elaan's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense 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

4.5

This book was incredible. I was absolutely hooked. I could not put it down. My only criticism is that the ending revelations/events happened so quickly (perhaps this was intentional) and were convenient and a little fantastical. But even so, I really really enjoyed this story. So well done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Animal death, and Rape

Minor: Suicide, Abandonment, and Death of parent