Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

8 reviews

queencariad's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and War

kirtreads's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

This book took me over two months to read because it is raw, emotional, dark, and does not throw punches. I had to listen in bits and then process and then come back. I can understand why the author calls this “the fiend”. I normally hate war fiction but this felt so raw and real, and I actually cared about the characters. 

This novel isn’t sad for the sake of being sad. I think Kathrine Arden actually does a great job of capturing the inexplicable and crazy hope that people can have in their darkest moments. However, it still is dark. The ending will crush you, but it is so worth the read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Xenophobia, Suicide, Abandonment, Body horror, Confinement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Mental illness, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

meg_turnsthepage's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, War, Grief, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Suicide

bnashley's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Using WWI and the Halifax Explosion of 1917 as a setting, The Warm Hands of Ghosts explored trauma, PTSD, grief, and the question of “self” through the lens of magical realism. 

The premise was interesting and well done, but it relied on some very common themes that made the book predictable/low stakes/thin. However, it was very touchingly written, and I cared a great deal about the characters, who were well done.

I did get the impression that the author had a much bigger story to tell but couldn’t quite incorporate everything into a cohesive narrative and pared the story down significantly. This was unfortunately very distracting because I kept imagining the missing pieces. 

I really enjoyed the care taken with the the setting. The historical setting and time-based language is accurate and detailed, and the author includes the kinds of little tidbits/trivia that make the setting feel alive. There were a few places where the prose got clunky/repetitive but it did not detract from the overall affect.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Murder, Grief, Violence, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, War, Addiction, Death, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent

devynreadsnovels's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Body horror, Cursing, Murder, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, War, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Grief, and Medical trauma

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, and Excrement

readingonthefly's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I enjoyed this one! It reminded me of Divine Rivals mixed with The London Seance Society. Loved the narrators, as they both made it really easy to just continue on. There was a lot of war, and definitely more detailed than Divine Rivals. I really liked that there was a “bad guy” as it really gave me someone to actively root against. That being said, it kind of lost me towards the end. The last two sentences intrigued me though! Still recommend if you liked the above mentioned books and war doesn’t bother you!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and War

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Genocide, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

downtown_kb's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? No

4.5

“Armageddon was a fire in the harbor, a box delivered on a cold day. It wasn't one great tragedy, but ten million tiny ones, and everyone faced theirs alone.”

Laura is a combat nurse who has returned home after an injury. Not long afterwards her parents both die in an explosion. Her brother, lost on the front lines, is her only remaining family. She becomes determined to find him but she must face many horrors in the process.

This was beautiful writing, captivating characters, and the perfect blend of real life twisted into the horrific. There is gore and ghosts, murder and a creepy unraveling of sanity. I was fascinated by “The Fiddler” and the new take on the Faustian bargain. It was so cleverly laid out. Set in the midst of WWI this setting lends so well to horror, as the author details in her afterward, because of course, at baseline it was a horrific time but taken just a step further you get lost in not quite knowing what is real along with the characters. I was hooked. This will stay with me for a long time. Rounded out well with a bit of romance, I was so relieved that the main characters get peace at the end of the madness. 

The audio by January LaVoy and Michael Crouch was fantastic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Murder, Confinement, War, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Blood, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts

madlyreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Dementia, Gore, Death, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, War, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders