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Reviews tagging 'Blood'
Miniatyrmakaren by Leif Janzon, Jessie Burton, Charlotte Hjukström
31 reviews
pollyflorence's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Animal death, Blood, Death, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, and Racism
balfies's review against another edition
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
Another historical fiction, this one set in 1620's Amsterdam about the new wife of a merchant and the secrets of their house.
Great historical detail and richness, characters with depth, well paced, ambiguous mystery, and enough tension throughout. Not necessarily a must read, but certainly an enjoyable one!
Great historical detail and richness, characters with depth, well paced, ambiguous mystery, and enough tension throughout. Not necessarily a must read, but certainly an enjoyable one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Colonisation, Abortion, and Slavery
Minor: Child death
vanadiumbean's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Pregnancy, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Sexual content
Moderate: Animal death, Medical content, and Police brutality
Minor: Colonisation, Slavery, and Torture
julijamijic's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? N/A
4.5
brilliant! I found myself caring for the characters immensely and reading the prologue again in context, after finishing the book, made it so much better. I just wish I got to know why exactly did the miniaturist target them and a little more about her except just the small bit regarding her, near the end of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Vomit
katenovah's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Sexism, Violence, Murder, Animal death, Death, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Infidelity, and Blood
em2jules's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Excrement, Grief, Police brutality, Sexism, and Torture
sauvageloup's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
3.5
This is a difficult one to rate. It isn't my usual taste, it was a gift, so it's hard to compare to what I usually read.
pros:
- the second half was quite gripping and grabs hold of you. The writing is good, straightforward but with turns of beauty, pacy and smooth.
- i liked Nella. She could easily have been annoying, but she's written so that her naivety is very forgivable and she's a good character, growing as the book goes on. The other characters were good too, and I wished we'd seen more of Otto.
- I liked how the plot all came together, it was satisfying to see the threads emerge.
- I appreciated that Johannes was shown to be a complex person, not just his sexuality.
- clearly a great deal of research had gone into the thing, which was impressive.
- I liked how Nella did grow as a character over the book and got up on her own two feet when needed.
cons:
- slow at the start.
- I didn't feel we got a in-depth look at the characters. Johannes was probably the most explored.
- the book did feel inevitable, which was a downer, though it wasn't handled badly.
- I didn't much like the way that it was offered up that women can have more than marriage, and yet those who try in the book ended up dead. And Marin claimed not to want to be a wife, but she dearly wants the baby and is willing to die for it. It felt a shame that we didn't actually get to see a woman decide not to marry and to succeed.
- the book wasn't what I expected and felt unresolved in many ways. I expected more creepiness with the miniaturist and whilst it was less of a cliche than I expected (no strange noises or lights from the house in the night for example), the miniaturist felt underused. She disappears, unexplained, and whilst that was part of her character, Nella never even got to meet her. Was she supposed to represent fate or god? What did the little house achieve exactly? It didn't add much to the story, despite being the main focus of the blurb, title and cover.
- the story itself also felt somewhat incomplete. I suppose you can imagine what'll happen next but i was left thinking of all the misery Thea would face with the racism and it just felt really sad (I understand that's realistic, I just don't know whether it was meant to be a bittersweet end, because it was primarily just bitter).
- it was miserable that Johannes died. Very 'bury your gays'.
- Also, personally, I hate birth scenes and this one was particularly gory. Also the sex parts earlier felt like like they were meant to shock. I understand that we see from 18-year-old Nella's POV, but it did feel... excessively lurid at times.
overall, I'm not sure what to say really. The writing and plot was good, I enjoyed it and wanted to keep reading, but it wasn't quite my thing and I didn't love it.
pros:
- the second half was quite gripping and grabs hold of you. The writing is good, straightforward but with turns of beauty, pacy and smooth.
- i liked Nella. She could easily have been annoying, but she's written so that her naivety is very forgivable and she's a good character, growing as the book goes on. The other characters were good too, and I wished we'd seen more of Otto.
- I liked how the plot all came together, it was satisfying to see the threads emerge.
- I appreciated that Johannes was shown to be a complex person, not just his sexuality.
- clearly a great deal of research had gone into the thing, which was impressive.
- I liked how Nella did grow as a character over the book and got up on her own two feet when needed.
cons:
- slow at the start.
- I didn't feel we got a in-depth look at the characters. Johannes was probably the most explored.
- the book did feel inevitable, which was a downer, though it wasn't handled badly.
- the book wasn't what I expected and felt unresolved in many ways. I expected more creepiness with the miniaturist and whilst it was less of a cliche than I expected (no strange noises or lights from the house in the night for example), the miniaturist felt underused. She disappears, unexplained, and whilst that was part of her character, Nella never even got to meet her. Was she supposed to represent fate or god? What did the little house achieve exactly? It didn't add much to the story, despite being the main focus of the blurb, title and cover.
- the story itself also felt somewhat incomplete. I suppose you can imagine what'll happen next but i was left thinking of all the misery Thea would face with the racism and it just felt really sad (I understand that's realistic, I just don't know whether it was meant to be a bittersweet end, because it was primarily just bitter).
- it was miserable that Johannes died. Very 'bury your gays'.
- Also, personally, I hate birth scenes and this one was particularly gory. Also the sex parts earlier felt like like they were meant to shock. I understand that we see from 18-year-old Nella's POV, but it did feel... excessively lurid at times.
overall, I'm not sure what to say really. The writing and plot was good, I enjoyed it and wanted to keep reading, but it wasn't quite my thing and I didn't love it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Sexual content, Racism, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Grief, Excrement, and Blood
leilorenzo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
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
5.0
I really enjoyed this book.
I bought it on a whim years ago (probably because of its cover, which is LOVELY), so I was more than pleasantly surprised when I started it this month.
The plot is thick through and through, talk about a tense ride! I thought I wouldn't be able to like the characters, but in the end, I really ended up rooting for them.
It is dark, and very descriptive, so bear that in mind and look for TW (gore, blood, injuries). There's also homophobia and xenophobia and enforced religion in public affairs...
I liked how it shows the reader a peek into Amsterdam's life all those years ago, and how merchants were so important, the secret workings of their houses, what kind of deals they made and society had to accept, etc.
I bought it on a whim years ago (probably because of its cover, which is LOVELY), so I was more than pleasantly surprised when I started it this month.
The plot is thick through and through, talk about a tense ride! I thought I wouldn't be able to like the characters, but in the end, I really ended up rooting for them.
It is dark, and very descriptive, so bear that in mind and look for TW (gore, blood, injuries). There's also homophobia and xenophobia and enforced religion in public affairs...
I liked how it shows the reader a peek into Amsterdam's life all those years ago, and how merchants were so important, the secret workings of their houses, what kind of deals they made and society had to accept, etc.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Excrement, Animal death, and Hate crime
Minor: Abortion and Slavery
mmefish's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
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
3.5
I enjoyed this book but would not recommend it. It is a solid piece of historical fiction but a bad mystery novel. I feel like the miniaturist part (oh, the irony) was actually unnecessary, and the story did not gain anything from it.
Favourite quotes:
Favourite quotes:
“True love was a flower in the gut, its petals unfurling inside out. You would risk all for love - blissful, never without its drops of dismay.”
“When you have truly come to know a person, Nella - when you see beneath the sweeter gestures, the smiles - when you see the rage and the pitiful fear which each of us hide - then forgiveness is everything. We are all in desperate need of it.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Animal death, Racism, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Sexual assault and Miscarriage
emma_zimmerman's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It surprised me and kept me engaged the whole way through. I didn't grasp the full message of the story, but it is a complicated one so I may come back to it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Blood, Death, Grief, and Violence