Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

103 reviews

theirgracegrace's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5

A loving and alluring pastiche of present, past and future, the Night Circus is a great book for lovers of mystery and magic. The plot centres around le Cirque des rêves, a circus that appears suddenly and is only open at night. The circus is a battleground between two magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been forced into a competition that neither participant quite understands. As the magic of the circus deepens, the two get entangled more and more, and the performers begin to suspect something is afoot...

My most adored parts of the book are the descriptions of the circus venues, from the enigmatic Labyrinth to the Wishing Tree and the Ice Garden. The symbolism of a circus that is adorned in black and white, and it is the visitors who bring colour to it, shows immaculate sense of the book's themes. I was immediately drawn to the character of Bailey and loved how the narrative slowly incorporates him and the rêveurs. A delightful tale with a bittersweet ending that I look forward to reading next time the circus rolls into town!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Body horror, Blood, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Death, Pregnancy, Violence, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Murder, and Physical abuse

Minor: Vomit, Classism, and Cursing

One of the side characters get hit by a train

and dies, and people try to make it out that she killed herself (but the reader will know it's not true).

kattila's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious relaxing slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicide, Death of parent, Death, and Sexual content

anindistinctaccountant's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-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

4.75

Features a character who agrees to help the main characters up until "the time is right" to figure their shit out. When "the time is right", there is no warning or indication why. Otherwise, everything smart in the book was stellar.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Child abuse

Minor: Death

linzlee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Emotional abuse

Minor: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

quasinaut's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

In the beginning, the world of the circus was entrancing, but as the story unfolded, I became less intrigued by a place that lacked color and energy. Don't get me wrong - I would love the chance to explore the circus, especially the tents that defy explanation, but I question how engaging it would be day after day, year after year. 

I listened on audio and while I liked the narration, I think this made it trickier to keep track of the different characters and chronology. I suspect I might like it better if we jumped between characters, but each of their stories didn't jump back and forth in time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Death of parent

narzibenoucdel's review

emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Physical abuse

unicornialism's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA wish i had more to say but that’s how i feel 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Death of parent

Moderate: Self harm and Suicide

nicholas_sparks's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

sydneylmeyer7's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Emotional abuse

takarakei's review

mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

I know a lot of people love this book but it just wasn't for me. Way too much vibes and not enough plot, it really struggled to keep my attention. Honestly it was like 80% descriptions of the Circus, so if you're into that this is the book for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Child abuse

Moderate: Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Blood

Minor: Death of parent