Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

10 reviews

lizzie_beth98's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Gore, Murder, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Grief, Pregnancy, and Death

Moderate: Miscarriage, Rape, Infidelity, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Medical content

nut_megg's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Body horror, Violence, Blood, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Stalking

eve_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.25

⁕ The dark fantasy elements of this novel were top notch and surprisingly intense for a YA novel. Craig does not shy away from the more sickening details of death, rot, and ghosts, even though the main characters through which we experience these things are literal children.

⁕ The slow burn romance honestly made me feel stupid giddy. I read this book months ago and I still remember the toe-tingling delight I felt when *the kiss* FINALLY happened. 

⁕  I didn't very much care for the characters as individuals (I felt that they were one-dimensional and stereotypical), but I loved their relationships and arguments as siblings. The jealousy and love between them were very well-written.

⁕ SPOILER: Portions of the plot felt haphazardly thrown together. We spend the entirety of the book trying to solve which friend or family member killed Annaleigh's sisters, only to find that it was largely the work of an evil demon that we didn't even know existed until the last few chapters? Also, the main love interest has magical powers and is related to royalty but doesn't use these attributes to help solve the mystery? Okay....

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Child death, Gore, Suicide, Pregnancy, Body horror, Gaslighting, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent

mysterymom40's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Blood, Gore, and Body horror

Moderate: Sexual content, Murder, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Death, Sexual harassment, Grief, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Medical content, and Gaslighting

Minor: Misogyny

character talks about using sex to get a wish fulfilled; very gory birth scene; scary dreams; scenes with characters in distorted body forms

slvt4b00ks's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book was such a treat. I have never really read anything tho close to horror. Definitely do not read at night if you’re prone to nightmares or scare easily. I love how many allusions there are to Edgar Alan Poe. There’s even a character named Edgar. This author has certainly mastered the macabre, I think mr. Poe himself would have loved this story. The ending had so many twists and turns, I was concerned that like our main character, I could not separate nightmare from reality. Please please please read this. I have no regrets other than that I wish I read this sooner. The book had been sitting on my shelf for a full YEAR, untouched. I almost feel as though the cover does not do it Justice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Grief, Death, Body horror, Suicide, Pregnancy, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Miscarriage, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Classism, Blood, Animal death, Alcohol, Murder, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Gore, Chronic illness, and Child death

purplehulk713's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Macabre and enchanting, like a ballgown woven from spiderwebs. The world-building of Arcannia, especially of the gods and their canon was fascinating and clever. “We are the People of the Salt.” The motif of dancing was exquisite, both as a breathless art and a dangerous temptation, magical, even. The story’s mystery is incredible, always keeping you guessing, even if you do grasp some pieces of the puzzle you don’t have them all. Death surrounds Highmoor, but Annaleigh seeks to protect life, her cleverness and loyalty to her family (especially her sisters) makes her a lovable, formidable, and powerful protagonist. Believe me, you’ll have trouble figuring out who the antagonist is. The salty seaside atmosphere is the perfect setting for a horror retelling of a classic fairytale. There are also plenty of edge-of-your-seat reveals. The one thing about the climax that slightly disappointed me was that it didn’t let Annaleigh shine as much as I thought she would, taking on some bold protective battle against the evil invading her home. But I guess it still showcased her development in avoiding temptation. It also showed her strength even in the face of loss, perhaps her greatest challenge in the novel. A unique pantheon of gods with potent and wonderfully crafted abilities creates a mesmerizing lore. Erin A. Craig does an impeccable job at balancing and blending the opulent and the sinister. Do you wish to escape your grief? Rest from the bitter and wearisome struggles of the everyday? Do you long for the joy that makes your heart light and your soul sing? Can you hear the melody? Well then, dance with me?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Grief, Medical content, Blood, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Sexual violence

theillustriousgatsby's review

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Medical content

Moderate: Murder

zoepagereader's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This book was a wild time, and not in a good way. An author has to know when there are too many plot points in a book and I’m sorry, but a Twelve Dancing Princesses murder mystery retelling set in a newly created fictional world with many murders and ghosts as well as new gods and a (maybe) love triangle with a Monday’s Not Coming styled semi-twist at the end is too much. Way too much. 2.75⭐️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Alcohol and Cursing

chichisode's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Suicide, Medical content, and Pregnancy

katrinarose's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

This was a solid enjoyable spooky read! I liked the unreliable narrator, atmosphere, and premise. The romance fell a bit flat for me, though. This book isn’t ground-breaking or incredible, but it was fun

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence