Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

13 reviews

marjoleinvanderspoel's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

This book really is a feat. Beautiful, atmospheric language mixed with modern topics and timely discoveries, this is historical fiction at it's best. I love how the characters all felt like real people and not swooning damsels and shining knights. But most important was still the wonderful naturalism and landscape descriptors. I desperately want to be a Victorian lady naturalist with a dead husband and no attachments now..

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content

Moderate: Animal death, Death, and Infidelity

selenesalavessa's review

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Medical content, Infidelity, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Blood, Gore, and Violence

lauramcc7's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Grief, and Infidelity

Minor: Sexual content

caitlyn_baldwin's review

mysterious reflective 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

4.0

A gothic tale of science vs superstition. Cora makes for an unconventional (for the time period) protagonist. Bonus points for Will, the dreamy vicar.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Infidelity and Domestic abuse

bedtimesandbooks's review

hopeful slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Medical content, Infidelity, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

dark mysterious relaxing slow-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: Gore, Body horror, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Death, and Medical content

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Ableism, Alcoholism, Sexual content, and Infidelity

Minor: Child death and Cancer

innerweststreetlibrarian's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

This feels less like a novel and more like an observation of the intersecting lives of the characters over a period of time. The presence and fear of the serpent is  pervasive, it changes people’s behaviour and impacts the way they live their lives. The writing is excellent, the narrative interesting enough to be unpredictable and it held my attention, but not engrossing enough to read it fast. I could have happily read a chapter a month and kept pace with the passage of time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma and Medical content

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Violence, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse and Infidelity

rieviolet's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad 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

3.0

I went into the book not really knowing what to expect (it's a book that I've seen recommended many times and wanted to give it a try) and now that I've finished it I can say that it was a nice enough read and clearly well written and researched but it just fell a bit flat for me in terms of story.  

Unfortunately, I did not care much about the two main characters and their relationship and I was more intrested in the various side characters, their portrayal and plot lines. Also, on various occasions, the 
choices and actions made by the characters left me very perplexed and just felt a bit out of place. 

Overall, I quite appreciated the writing stlye/prose, although there were some segments where the author narrated in a sort of sequence each characters' progress within the story and those parts I found a bit dragging.

Also, I didn't particularly enjoy the detailed description of injuries and medical procedures, maybe they seem quite tame for many people but I am squeamish and so I found it really difficult to go through those parts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Medical content

Moderate: Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Sexual content

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Body shaming, and Sexual violence

maddiehansen's review

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

nnniro411's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-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

2.0

I am unsure how to feel about this book. I think if I was trying to read it I wouldn't have been able to get through it. Even listening to the audiobook was a struggle. It was a bizarre story that I wish had more action. Honestly I think I went into it thinking this was going to be more of an creature searching adventure when in reality it was much more slower paced with more of a metaphorical plot than an actual creature. I tuned out a lot listening to this and still feel completely at a loss on what I think of this book. 

It honestly feels more like a book I would have been forced to read for English in high school than a book I would have read on my own. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Infidelity

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt