Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Sundial by Catriona Ward

81 reviews

justacowboy's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Infertility, Sexual content, and Blood

dysfunctile's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

jfren's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

phantomgecko's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

A braided novel! One strand the mother, one strand the daughter, one strand the past, and one strand a novel within the novel.

It's got its little twists and turns and mysterious aura, so that's all fun. I figured most of the little mysteries before the official reveals, but I was also wrong along the way. Definitely a creepy book.

A little different look at the abusive husband trope.

i.e. the husband is definitely abusive and sucks fr, but Rob is legit a psychopath so she can give him what he deserves and still be the protagonist.

Also, I loved the ambiguous ending. What happens next? You decide! And also...........what's the deal with the contacts that may or may not exist. Love that bit. I think Rob really is Rob, personally, but maybe not! Maybe Rob is really Jack and lied about how the story ends. We'll never know!

My only complaint was the little novel bits. I thought they were kinda pointless but I understand the value they actually gave.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

kds247's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. It was well written and had some really interesting twists

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death

stabilesero's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Now this is finally a type of Thriller I can get behind. The perfect mix of shocking, horrifying plot with little bits of intrigue and suspense. 
I can't say I was a huge fan of the main character, Rob, but I loved Callie. I maybe empathised a bit too much with the sullen, I-hate-everyone-but-I'm-entirely-misunderstood trope but I love it. I found Callie to be really endearing and thoroughly looked forward to getting to her next perspective to see what the other spin was to her side of what was going on. 
I found Sundial as a location vastly interesting, as well as Rob & Jack's childhood with the dogs and scientific experiments.

It all very much plays into the psychology of "Are you born evil/bad, and can that be scientifically changed or environmentally/nurtured to change". 

I usually really struggle to connect with US settings/locations because I'm from the UK; whether it be lack of description or the same overused descriptions, but Ward really pulled off the Californian desert setting. It was done beautifully and gave it every justice it deserved. 
I think Ward is going to be one of my top Thriller authors, and I am very keen to pick up more of her work.
Also, just f**k Rob's husband.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, and Miscarriage

Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use

crowyhead's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Blood

laneychaney's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infertility

sortabadass'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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Blood

jrocbutterfly's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-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

4.5

This book passes a little slowly at the beginning but does not take long to Amp up to a full throttle roller coaster. Told from 2 perpecrives, one of Rob and one of her daughter Callie. Sundial is a terrifying tale of the question, does human experience or true nature make a person evil. Or is it a little bit of both. Ward keeps you guessing through the whole book on what is true, what you truly know, and what really happened. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Child death, Self harm, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy