Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

10 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

cpardub's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

I listened to Hester as an audiobook and HIGHLY RECOMMEND. It was such a fun listen. I really enjoyed this book and have been recommending it to others all week since finishing it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Slavery, Xenophobia, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual content and Forced institutionalization

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

cyndi1966's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Slavery, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

daydaybookbay's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.5

I rated this book a 9 out of 10. I really enjoyed the blast to the past, reminding me of The Scarlet Letter and the Salem Witch Trials. Having the history woven into the fictional storyline makes it feel more real. It is clear so much research was put into the writing of this story.

The way Isobel's Synesthesia was written really captured me. This beautiful visual that she learns to embrace privately. With such an experience many people today can not fully understand, it hurts to know Isobel was practically afraid of herself.

My favorite parts to read were the scenes Isobel was sewing, All the details of the dresses and clothing and the descriptions of embroidery in the gloves created the images in my mind. I love it. So much description went into it, but it felt light like music.

While we watch Isobel grow, we see the women supporting women every step of the way. Nell and Mercy take different approaches to help Isobel, but both women warm my heart.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and War

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

amberghinii's review

reflective 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, and Colonisation

micaelamariem's review

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

This book had really good writing but the plot didn’t get too interesting until the last third. I’m sorry but I don’t find things about stitching and dressmaking interesting. Of course there was a lot more to it than that but that seemed to have the majority of the descriptions 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

bootsmom3's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape

erynlasbelin's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail