Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

81 reviews

poetsofsweetpea's review against another edition

dark tense 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

3.5

I didn't dislike the book as much as I was disappointed.  I thought the book would be about a magic Bookshop based on the title, description, and cover.  I was surprised to find instead that it was really about women surviving abuse and also a love story and also a magical bookshop.

There were a lot of things going on, and as a result, a lot of questions were left unanswered.  There was also a lot of convenient pieces of information given sentences before it was needed, even though there was ample opportunity to provide that context earlier in the novel.

Some of the relationships felt forced.

The ending was satisfying.

The POV'S were confusing at first, probably a me thing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and War

erwikka's review

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

So Night Circus is my favorite book and I’m always looking for something that gives me what I felt reading that. This book did that. Martha, Henry and Opaline’s stories were so engaging and magical that I was hooked from the first sentence. I love the multiple POV and I’m a sucker for duel timelines, I love seeing how the past can contribute to the present. I feel like this book is about the power of stories and your place in the world. Truly being who you are and not hiding from it was a key theme in my opinion. Magic Realism is such a compelling genre that instantly grabs me and doesn’t let go. I really loved the beautiful, sad, and hopeful book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

sunflower895's review

emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism and Confinement

jocelynbold's review

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Child death, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Alcoholism, Suicide, and Death of parent

maeghie1408's review

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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? Yes

2.75

I’m really sad to say that this is a DNF at 52%. 

I was really invested in this story and it had a lot of potential… but unfortunately, this fell incredibly short. 

The romance in this book was all tainted with cheating. This made me infinitely sad. 

I think the healing aspect of this book could’ve been done better as well. The execution lacked and I didn’t feel like the research had been done regarding the healing aspects from a toxic parent. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Infidelity

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

Considering what a dud my last read was, this one could only be given a full five stars. I normally dislike parallel timelines telling two stories back and forth. This time, it felt less linear and more circular. I was yelling angered, saddened, shocked, elated, hopeful, satisfied, curious, cheerful, and so many other feelings all throughout the book. There are so open questions, but the book felt so good to finish that none of those questions actually need answers for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

alanahcw's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

Magical ❤

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, War, and Classism

melbell016's review

adventurous lighthearted mysterious tense 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

This book is excellent. It has fantasy elements without being hardcore fantasy, and it’s a beautiful story about strong women. 

I couldn’t put it down and finished it in a day and a half. In the beginning, I thought I knew where the story was heading, but I really didn’t at all. That’s the sign of a good author and a good book. 

This is the kind of book that makes you remember why you love reading. Not just because the book itself is good, but because of the way the characters talk about books and literature. 

I really enjoy books like this that flip back and forth between narrators and time periods, but it’s not always done well, and the author did an excellent job. 

I also loved how many powerful lines were in the book. I was constantly highlighting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Minor: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts

beckylmartin's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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? No

3.5

It required a lot of suspension of belief due to all the coincidences. The British researcher brought some nice humor. Women being committed to institutions is so unjust. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail

sujiekim16's review

adventurous emotional funny sad slow-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

3.5

A secret bookstore lost but for the ✨right✨ person. Two storylines intertwined with love and intrigue for both books and people. A story of independence and growing into the person they were always meant to be! A great story for lovers of book and book stores, you'll find some great easter eggs and could put you in the mood to go look for your perfect bookshop. 

This was a slow starter, that was almost too slow (nearly DNF’d in the first 25%). The story is compelling, but even the characters seemed to get lost every once in a while. The back half was rushed but caught my attention and was very satisfying to read. The story was good, but there were some loose ends that I wish had been tied at the end, and it did feel like this may not be a standalone, but no sequel seems to be coming. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, and War