Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Gifts by Liz Hyder

4 reviews

unfiltered_fiction's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma and Confinement

Moderate: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and Racism

amylynnknitsreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Medical content, Animal cruelty, and Kidnapping

maaikereadsbooks_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Many thanks to Bonnier Audio and Liz Hyder for the advanced audio copy of The Gifts via NetGalley, in return for my honest and unbiased review. Quick note: I don’t recap plots in my reviews, as it’s easy enough to read the book’s synopsis and blurbs, I purely focus on my feelings & opinions of how the books makes me feel. 

I enjoyed listening to The Gifts. I was drawn in by the cover art and was not actually sure what it was going to be about, so the entire story came as an unknown surprise to me! 

I live in Shropshire, so listening to the beautifully written descriptions of the Salopian countryside of the 1840s was lovely. It was obvious that the author either had a lot of pre-existing knowledge or did a lot of research into botany for the book. 

The narrator, Tuppence Middleton, was very nice to listen to. The audio quality was superb, with no obvious edits, volume changes or errors. The accents were done well and smoothly. 

The different POVs were initially perhaps a bit daunting but after a couple of chapters were easy enough to adjust to. By the end of the book, however, each chapter was a hodgepodge of characters’ views contributing to that chapter’s content. 

Overall, The Gifts is a well-written piece of fantastical historical fiction. It will appeal to both readers of light fantasy and historical women’s fiction. 

Moods: challenging, dark, emotional, mysterious, reflective 

Pace: medium 

Character development: strong 

Plot or character driven: 50/50 

Diversity: medium 

Spice: 0/5 

Trigger warnings: Alcohol abuse, Amputation, Animal abuse/death, Blood/Gore, Death, Infertility, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Physical or mental abuse, Physical illness, Racism, Violence 

Rating: 

Story: 4/5 

Audio: 5/5 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Infertility, Animal death, Confinement, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Racism

divya_s's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Racism

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Sexual assault and Domestic abuse