Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline

23 reviews

singalana's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Blood, Sexual content, Death, Kidnapping, Medical content, Vomit, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Animal death, Murder, and Violence

mr_cain's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Religious bigotry, Grief, Cursing, and Drug use

Moderate: Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, and Death

Minor: Sexual content, Stalking, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Infidelity

solenekeleroux's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Racism, Death, Animal death, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Blood, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Moderate: Sexual assault, Body horror, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Abandonment

laurenleigh's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.5

I think this was a rec from @boxcarsewing? So glad I finally got around to it! This was a thrilling take on the rougarou legend. Rougarous are mythical creatures similar to a werewolf, and they’re often used in cautionary tales to inspire obedience and fear, especially for children. So fascinating to see how this plays into the issues indigenous people face in Canada and northern US. Dimaline especially explores the heterogeneity of indigenous groups, and how not everyone agrees what is best (e.g. Should a Native person take a well-paying job to better support their family if it’s at the mines that are destroying their ancestral lands?). The plot pacing was very well-done, and oof that ending really got to me!! Did not see that one coming. Content warning for a fair amount of sexual content, FYI.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, Animal death, and Alcohol

bookmarkedbyfi's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Murder, Grief, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual content

Moderate: Body horror, Car accident, Colonisation, and Religious bigotry

death of a grandparent

kinomatica's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Gaslighting, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Alcohol, Abandonment, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, and Animal death

Minor: Racism, Misogyny, and Panic attacks/disorders

rorikae's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-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

4.75

'Empire of Wild' by Cherie Dimaline is an emotional story surrounding one woman's attempt to save her husband. 
Joan believes her husband is dead when she stumbles into a religious tent in the Walmart parking lot and finds a man that looks remarkably like him preaching. But Viktor doesn't remember her and is now going by the name Eugene Wolff. Joan knows that this man is her husband and will stop at nothing to get him back, including taking on the revival group that seems to have brainwashed him and the stories of more than wolves that are lurking in the woods. 
From the first paragraph of this book, I was hooked. Dimaline has an engaging and evocative writing style that clearly paints the world she has created in stark but emotional prose. From the beginning, Joan and each of the supporting characters flew off the page as if they had been plucked from real life. Add to that an enticing mystery as the reader tries to figure out what happened to Viktor right alongside Joan and this story was near perfection. Dimaline does a great job of breathing folklore and a hint of the speculative into a world that is otherwise down to earth. I have been excited to pick up her work for some time and now I can't wait to read everything that she has written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Alcohol, Blood, Violence, Sexual content, Racism, and Kidnapping

caidyn's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-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

3.0

Premise? Awesome.
Carry-out? Meh.

I think that sums up my thoughts on the book. I was super excited to read it, but it fell flat as a read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol and Animal cruelty

bookdragon217's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Violence, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Racism, and Pregnancy

mommarex1221's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A solid re-imagining of Red Riding Hood, is a fun read, especially around Halloween.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racism, Sexual content, and Violence