Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

15 reviews

thalia16's review against another edition

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

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

ncamp214's review against another edition

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: Sexual content and Drug use

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

mels_reading_log's review against another edition

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

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

Moderate: Sexual content

gracescanlon's review against another edition

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

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

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

laurenlee2158's review against another edition

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

spineofthesaurus's review against another edition

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

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

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

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: Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Pregnancy, and Infidelity

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Slavery, and Grief

chandrayisaacson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

Evocative description, made me want to embroider everything I own. Strong women! Satisfying ending. Subtle magic. Interesting magical realism.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Abortion, and Colonisation

Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, Slavery, Addiction, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Racism, and Sexual content