Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

66 reviews

irinalast's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring tense medium-paced

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

5.0

An interesting and complicated world is created through several perspectives; setting is established through ‘show don’t tell.’ Great writing that establishes realistic character feelings and dialogue.  

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Content Warnings

Minor: Physical abuse, Racism, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

strawberrybooks's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

4.25

Really enjoyed the story overall! Definitely worth a read. I loved the setting and the build up of the plot, even if things got super slow in the middle. But I feel like there could have been more between Miryem and the king, I thought the switch up of her hating him to (spoiler) was a bit sudden. But I thought the author did a great job juggling everyone’s POV, especially as it wasn’t always named who was speaking, the voice of each person was still clear. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Alcoholism

kurumipanda's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Antisemitism, Torture, Violence, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse

Minor: Animal death, Rape, Xenophobia, Blood, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Classism

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Antisemitism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence

daciane's review against another edition

Previously read and enjoyed Uprooted by the same author. I liked the premise of this book, but after almost 80 pages it hadn't grabbed my attention. Found myself becoming bored and easily distracted. Plus the constantly changing perspectives felt a bit clunky?

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Content Warnings

Minor: Rape and Physical abuse

wonderbeastlett's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

This deals with a lot of issues that are gritty and more complex. I did enjoy this book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Murder, and Physical abuse

secirko's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Death

bethann_coleates's review against another edition

adventurous 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

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, Alcoholism, Racism, War, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Rape, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder

missjoni's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse

sinceraly's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

4.5

Ideally, I'll write a longer, more well thought out review at some point, but for now:

Spinning Silver is an excellent adaption/retelling of Rumpelstiltskin that does a great job of setting itself apart from the original. The book is excellently written with some of the best prose I've read all year, and Novik is so incredibly skilled at describing things so well you really can picture them all in your head.

The only thing stopping me from rating the book 5 stars is the amount of perspectives the book gets written through, and the nonsense order of how they happen. At first it's as simple as Miryem/Wanda/Irina, but then you toss in perspectives from the tsar, from Irina's handmaiden, from Wanda's brother, and they all happen randomly, it feels like. Though I loved the switch in perspectives at first, eventually it led to the middle section of the book feeling disjointed and not as cohesive as it could have been. Maybe on a second read, I'd feel like it's worth it, but it was a big enough negative for me to keep the book from 5 stars.

Also wish the book would have given me an epilogue if only because I wanted to see more of the Staryk king post "you fight good" moment. I'm a sucker for proud bitches and a redemption arc.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Antisemitism, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, and Miscarriage