Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

دوشیزگان by Alex Michaelides

46 reviews

tyanne_m's review against another edition

2.0

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Infertility

cheyb29's review against another edition

1.5

dark sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia

elliotjackson's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I had trouble getting into this book initially, but I found myself entranced by the parallels of Greek tragedies to the characters. I do believe the heavy mythological themes and references tended to overshadow the plot at times and make it more difficult to follow, but they also served their purpose in making the book a reflection of life, death, and tragedy. I found it interesting how every character’s past could be interconnected to their present and the role they played. There was definitely an emphasis on the concept of how hurt people will hurt people, and that ultimately, nobody’s story is without its shades of grey.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Pedophilia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment

Moderate: Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility

adeepermystery's review against another edition

3.0

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I've still got to make peace with the ending, and what I see as loose ends. But I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong about the ending. 

Oh--I wanted to note the author's idiosyncratic use of the m-dash. It was used many places I'd expect a comma, and really broke up the flow of the reading for me at first. It got easier with time. Maybe it's a UK thing? (I grew up in the US and moved to Mexico in my 40s--I know Mexico uses punctuation much differently, so perhaps that's the case with this unusual m-dash usage.) 

I'm working to re-establish a daily reading habit, and I was certainly invested in this story! I had a million theories I thought were sooo smart. Pleased to be incorrect about all of them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Blood, Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Cancer, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Car accident, Suicide attempt

mbwoconnor's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious fast-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

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Why did I read this?!?! The author knows how to weave an incredible tale. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

laurengeorgia's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Grief

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Infertility, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Car accident, Murder, Toxic friendship

nicoledelairs's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Hey what the fuck was that?

okay but when the author of the letter used the word "premonition" i for suurrrreeeee thought it had to be jack. Like???????? But okay finding out it was sebastion was a huge shock for me and makes me so sad for Zoe. She was groomed by this sick predator to become a tool for him

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Grief

Minor: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment

spoiler for the Animal Death CW: a character is writing about his past and details an incident when his father shoots his dog, killing it. The character had a strong bond with this dog and it is quite upsetting and senseless violence

Spoiler for the Child Abuse and Pedophilia CW: late in the novel it is revealed that a female character was groomed from a young age by a male character that was close to her and sort of like a father figure. It can be assumed that this male character has sex with the female character while she is underage. Since she is not old enough to consent, I also tagged CW rape.

thewildkat's review against another edition

2.25

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I guessed the ending pretty early on. Also, the resolution to the story was a bit lacking and didn’t really tell you what the characters came away with and ended at a weird moment that would have been interesting to see.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria

erinoconnor's review against another edition

2.0

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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Honestly… bleh. I listened to the audiobook, which was great, but the book itself was truly awful. Between the cringy lead character, the way every single man was obsessed with her and wanted to sleep with her, the casual assault, and the absurd twist that basically devalued the whole story, I am surprised I didn’t just stop. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

kb_sherman's review against another edition

4.5

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting