Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

75 reviews

cassie_ellie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Alcoholism

Minor: Rape

brianareads's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Violence, Sexual content, Antisemitism, and Acephobia/Arophobia

puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Violence, Grief, and Gore

Minor: Child death, Sexual assault, and Rape

leadabird's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Naomi Novik is becoming one of my favorite authors.  Her stories remind me of the fantastical books I would read as a kid, just sexier and darker.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia, Violence, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Racism

kathytwitch's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Another satisfying adult fairy tale style story from Naomi Novik, I think I liked this one better than Uprooted. 

This twist on Rumplestiltskin also has a Slavic slant, accented by a narrator with a Russian-type accent. Told in several voices, this story brings three young women together in a way that allows them to each triumph over their separate trials. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Sexual content, and Torture

One main character faces strong anti-Semitism, and her family fears to antagonize the townsfolk in any way, lest they be killed. One main character faces severe poverty and physical abuse by an alcoholic father, while her brothers suffer child abuse when they cannot hide. Starvation is a real threat to this family. One main character faces a very different trial, an arranged marriage to a powerful man who is possessed by a violent demon that is intent upon killing her, slowly and painfully. The poverty-striken family buried many babies under a tree, only to bury their mother there as well. There's abuse from the father of this heroine, and torture by his demon of another heroine's unwanted husband. Our third heroine is also subjected to an unwanted marriage to the powerful, hostile elven king. Both unhappily married women spend much of the book trying (successfully) to avoid the consummation of their marriages. When, at the end, events change both of the unwanted husbands, we are left to speculate about their happily ever after. While there are no bedroom scenes, there's plenty of talk about how to avoid what happens on one's wedding night.