Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

16 reviews

prairieraven's review

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

thalia16's review

dark emotional 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

Graphic: Xenophobia

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

kelisabeth's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

ncamp214's review

adventurous emotional inspiring 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Drug use and Sexual content

Minor: Domestic abuse, Slavery, Death of parent, and Colonisation

mels_reading_log's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

“It’s not that we are witches or faeries or that we deny God. It is that we are more beautiful and strong together than apart.”  Men are scared of things they don’t understand. During the Witch Trials they hunted and murdered anyone who was different or skilled in a way they were ignorant to, all the while standing behind God as if He would endorse such foolishness. This story is the fictional story of the real Hester Prynne of the Scarlet Letter. I loved the strength, grit and determination of the outcast characters. They saw who they could trust and stuck together. This was such a good book!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I enjoyed this fictionalized version of the writing of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.  Even without the ties to the classic book, it was a wonderful historical novel set in Salem in the 1600s.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual content

gracescanlon's review

adventurous emotional inspiring 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

4.75

As a woman with multiple forms of synesthesia and with family members who also have it, a historical fiction story told from the perspective of a woman with synesthesia is so up my alley, it may as well have been written for me. 

I found Isobel’s descriptions of her experiences with her own synesthesia quite believable. I haven’t had such vibrant experiences myself since I was a girl, but I remember them, and still have smaller, less dramatic ones. Whether Ms. Albanese has synesthesia or not, I found her portrayals of it, especially how it touches every part of life, to ring true. Well done!

This would have been a five-star read, but I felt that the story was rushed in some places. That rush led to a lack of development and depth in characters and their relationships with one another. I think if more time had been devoted to building and expanding upon these, it would've enriched the novel - and earned five stars from me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Addiction, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, and Colonisation

Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Medical content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

laurenlee2158's review

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

spineofthesaurus's review

adventurous dark emotional

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence, Incest, Excrement, Vomit, and Medical content

brichneyfloss's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Moderate: Slavery, Toxic relationship, and Grief