Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

Before My Actual Heart Breaks by Tish Delaney

6 reviews

issy_jacob's review

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War

_inge's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Initially I couldn’t really get into this. The prose is heavily literary (the acknowledgements mention two poets who contributed, which doesn’t surprise me) and the inclusion of (to me) unknown Irish words made it a confusing read at times. On top of that, the story was very slow-paced and didn’t seem to have a clear direction. For a while I contemplated DNF’ing it, but when I’d put the book down after 40 pages or so I noticed I could easily remember every character afterwards. The Hill was easy to imagine, and I could still hear these characters in my head, which is usually my sign to keep on reading. After the 100 page mark, things started picking up more. I’d gotten used to Irish and the general writing style by that time as well. From that point onwards, I flew through this. I really appreciated that this novel stayed true to the time-period in particular. That might mean that these characters don’t do what we want them to do, but it does mean they’re very realistic.

It weirdly reminds me of Shuggie Bain? No one is particularly likeable, but their circumstances aren't either so you do understand why. Family dynamics and communities play a part here, too. The overall atmosphere might be a bit depressing at times, and yet there's always a flicker of hope that keeps you reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

mimithorp's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Rape, and Pregnancy

liannaengland's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, and Physical abuse

my_plant_library's review

challenging emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Death and Sexual violence

sophiejoy99's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage