Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

19 reviews

saskiajva's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Before you start this book, definitely read the trigger warnings. Based on the summary and the tagline “the most charming and uplifting novel of 2023”, i was expecting a cozy story about a magic bookshop that filled you with warmth, hope, and childlike wonder. This book was nothing like that. Instead, it is 431 pages of three different people experiencing and processing horrific and very real-world traumas. The actual bookshop is much more the background setting of their lives, and not at all integral to the plot in my opinion, which i thought was a bummer. this book could’ve easily been set in a realistic world without the bookshop and it would change very little. 

Ultimately the book was fairly captivating and i did read it to the end, but i don’t think i would’ve chosen this had i known what it was actually about. Or at  the very least i definitely would have been more mindful about reading this while in a good headspace. The history was pretty cool, it’s clear the author did a ton of research and there are so many historical Easter eggs interwoven 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Grief, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Self harm, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Child death and War

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Suicide

milton's review

challenging mysterious tense 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? No

1.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Murder, Domestic abuse, Death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Violence, Infidelity, Grief, Suicide, Misogyny, and Kidnapping

Minor: War

carriehaley89's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Minor: Child death and Suicide

ash_bees's review

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-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

5.0

A single story told from two points in time about 100 years apart.  Very well written, I could feel the heart ache.

Not to distract from the rest of the story line, but so much of this is about the actions of a psychopath, the fall out from those actions, and the victims who are trying to heal.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Violence, Mental illness, Torture, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and War

laurenvoice's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-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? No

5.0

The Lost Bookshop was a perfect mix of magic and real life.

The three stories of Opaline, Martha, and Henry intertwined beautifully, and the stories left you feeling hopeful. There was no question left unanswered; the last paragraph of The Lost Bookshop answered that most important question. Oh, I do not know how I will get over this book - it was just so wonderful! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Grief, Sexism, Confinement, Child death, Misogyny, and Violence

Minor: War, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

eleanor029's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

The book was very easy to read and I just flew through it. It had me hooked from the start. It has dark themes, but is incredibly magical and mysterious. I loved not being able to predict everything. The story really kept it interesting and tense. 
It is absolutely perfect for a cosy winter evening.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Murder, Grief, Emotional abuse, Violence, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Suicide, Gun violence, Vomit, Blood, Pregnancy, Child death, and Cancer

kaelizaco's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Violence, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, and Alcohol

kjperry97's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Confinement, Gaslighting, War, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

ehnreads's review

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective 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? No

3.0

started off strong had great expectations. Thought it was gonna be a lot more mystical, but ultimately felt that it dragged on for a little bit too long halfway through , losing all the mystique that I had in the beginning.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, and Mental illness

Minor: Child death and Alcoholism

aimeethom05's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, War, Abandonment, Confinement, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Misogyny