Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcell

5 reviews

redroseses's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, Death, Classism, and Child death

Moderate: Child abuse, Vomit, Terminal illness, Car accident, Stalking, Gore, Child death, Toxic relationship, and Blood

Minor: Body horror, Police brutality, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

alba_marie's review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

While I loved Purcell's most famous book, <i>The Silent Companions</i>, I have to say that her other works haven't exactly lived up to my expectations. 

This one was at least better than <i>The Corset</i> which disgusted me to my core. 

I was intrigued to read <i>The Shape of Darkness</i> for three reasons: because it was Victorian, gothic, and set in Bath – a place I once lived and where I ultimately decided that I wanted to permanently live in Europe. Needless to say, it's one of the places I hold dearest to my heart.

While I loved the start in Sydney Gardens and across Pultney Bridge, I was a bit disappointed that Bath itself hardly featured after the first few scenes despite being the perfect setting for such a novel. To me, it seems like the author missed a trick here. 

At the core of the novel, we have Agnes, a middle-aged spinster still recovering physically from an illness and emotionally from past family drama; as well as Pearl, an albino child trafficked by her step-sister as a spirit medium. 

In this book, the spirits come alive with a vengeance. They – often violently – speak through Pearl to her paying clients. They haunt Agnes through the silhouette cutouts of long dead people. They haunt Pearl for the seemingly simple crime of being born. And now they are haunting Bath itself with people dropping like flies upon interacting with Agnes. 

The twist at the end was unexpected

that her nephew and mum are actually long dead and she's either been hallucinating or seeing ghosts for years

but though that worked well, the book struggled to grab me and hold my interest. I think it was Agnes and Pearl themselves... I just didn't like either one. 

So in the end, not a bad book, and a fascinating dive into the forgotten art of silhouettes, but not one that will stay with me in the long run. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Child death, Death, and Mental illness

robin_reads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Laura Purcell did it again. I absolutely adore her writing. So detailed and eerie, gives you just enough information to keep you in the dark but speculating at the same time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Blood, Misogyny, Murder, Grief, and Vomit

kb_sherman's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Vomit, and Mental illness

Moderate: Car accident, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, and Medical trauma

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, and Infidelity

madroxreads's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Murder