Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

20 reviews

cpardub's review

adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

5.0

I got sucked into this book and couldn’t put it down for a whole day. So descriptive and vivid, and such well written characters. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Blood, Classism, Murder, Colonisation, Sexism, Gun violence, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

musicalpopcorn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-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

3.5

A reimagining of the universe of Dr. Moreau, this book tells the story of his daughter and her first experiences with reality. 

I had higher hopes for this story, but in the end I found it somewhat bland and predictable. While it was fast-paced, the story wasn’t anything groundbreaking. It was an enjoyable read, but nothing special. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Murder, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

mlovesbooks's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Infertility, Racism, Sexual harassment, Violence, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Colonisation, Classism, Blood, Body horror, and Alcoholism

inirac's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

Really enjoyed this. I'm glad it made an effort to ground the original story in the history of the area and gave agency to characters that I had been curious about.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, Chronic illness, Death, Blood, Slavery, Medical content, Colonisation, Medical trauma, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Misogyny, Gun violence, Trafficking, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Child abuse, and Toxic relationship

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Slavery, Racism, Animal death, Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Body horror, Colonisation, Death of parent, Violence, Gore, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Grief, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, War, Mental illness, Misogyny, Ableism, Sexual violence, Sexism, Chronic illness, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Cancer and Infertility

vixenreader's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

Half of the book is more about atmosphere than plot. Be patient, because you will get a thrilling climax once you get over the hump and see how the author subverts Wells’ sci-fi classic in the best possible way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Alcoholism, Blood, Confinement, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Slavery, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual violence, Body horror, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Gore

Minor: Drug use, Religious bigotry, War, Genocide, Dysphoria, Murder, and Chronic illness

Please remember to be aware of animal-human hybrids, death of a spouse, grief over a lost relationship, financial struggles, dehumanizations of slaves, attempted rape, animal violence, first sex experiences, narcissism, surrogacy, and experimentation on animals.

abril_chavez's review

emotional hopeful slow-paced

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

4.0

This book presents a fantastical, whimsical far away land that's been shaped by important politics and colonization of the time. It adds elements of a love story, not just your classic love story, but the love within a family, love for one's self, and how different sorts of love can be toxic. Although "love story" would not be the main way to describe this book; it's mostly a book about a family who's trying to stay together and hold onto the peace they've created for themselves in their isolated Hacienda when threat comes knocking on their door. If you've read The Island of Dr. Moreau, then you sort of know what to expect in terms of characters in the book. If you haven't, like me when I started this book, then you're in for an unexpected twist that makes the story so much better.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Religious bigotry, Medical content, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Body horror, War, and Toxic relationship

rhi_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Gaslighting, and Gun violence

Moderate: Toxic relationship

Minor: Blood, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Murder, Child abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Classism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Misogyny

linblythe_pub22's review

emotional mysterious reflective slow-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? It's complicated

3.75

This book is great. I prefer other books by this author but that's not because the book doesn't measure up. It's because she's used the vehicle of period romance/period adventure/scientific romance to communicate class politics, racial politics, colonisation, imperialism, capitalism, feminism and intersectionality. I love the layers and themes of this but the genre is not my cup of tea. But for anyone wanting to learn more about the above themes or simply interested in period romance/period adventure/science romance, you'll love this book. It is so well researched and put together so seamlessly. You can see the neat references to the real time period and also the Island of Dr Moreau by HG Wells. It's beautifully written and a great escape.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexism, Racism, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Classism, Colonisation, and Death

jgalla's review

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, and Colonisation

Moderate: Classism, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Violence, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Gun violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Slavery

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexism, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Child death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Rape