Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

20 reviews

katievallin's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexism, Violence, Murder, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Death, Physical abuse, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, and Alcoholism

Minor: Infidelity, War, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Medical content, Cursing, Death of parent, 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.

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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

whirl's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Murder, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Child death

ems_rxlibrary's review

mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• 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

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Pregnancy

bookbelle5_17's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-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? Yes

5.0

Review of The Lost Book Shop 

By: Evie Woods

This charming narrative tells the story of two women, Martha, a woman escaping an abusive marriage to Ireland, and Opaline, escaping an arranged marriage made by her brother to open a bookshop in Ireland. 

            I loved this story about finding yourself through literature and the whimsy of bookshops, though the book was not always happy.  The plot deals with escaping abuse and the horrors of how women were accused of insanity and put in an asylum because men didn’t like ‘hysterical” women.   I liked both Martha and Opaline for their strength and vulnerability.  They were both brave in their way, despite the suffering they experience.  Henry, Martha’s love interest, was charming and awkward, but has trouble being honest about his feelings. Him being an academic was a plus for me.   Madame Bowden is fun with her eccentricities and protecting Martha in her own unique way.   I liked Sylvia, but didn’t we get as much time with her as I would have liked.  Lyndon is such a monstrous human being and I hated him.  He tries to justify his actions making it seem he did the lesser evil of the options.  I have heard of Shakespeare and Company and it being part of Opaline’s story was cool to read about.  Though, this is fiction, and I don’t if the way the story includes the store is historically accurate. I had fun reading the subplot that was the literary mystery, and I don’t mean the lost bookshop itself, which was a cool concept to read it.   I haven’t read a lot of stories set in Ireland and reading about Ireland was magical with the beautiful descriptions to show us the Irish setting.  The bookshop was described so invitingly and loved how she set it up with displays of various objects the original owner had.  It was hard to read the parts where we hear about the abuse Martha experienced and it was also difficult to read the parts in the asylum.  World War II was featured in Opaline’s story, but it doesn’t play as big of a role in this story.  This was a great heartwarming read and I will read it again at some point..

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: 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! 

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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

redheadsuperpowers's review

emotional mysterious tense 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 quaint, sweet and many layered story. I loved the flips between the modern day Martha and Henry, and the 1920's era Opaline. The love of reading and books themselves woven throughout the story, with a touch of many layered mystery to keep you intrigued. The personal struggles of the characters. This was very much Martha and Opaline's story, Henry was just along for the ride. The twists and turns as Martha and Henry attempt to find the titled lost bookshop, as well as Opaline's search for Emily Bronte's lost second novel entertained and thrilled. The very real consequences for their times the ladies faced for their choices kept me on my toes. I have a deep love for stories about books, loving books, and definitely for stories about finding yourself. I recommend this to any book lover. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Kidnapping

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.

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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

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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

cmklaft's review

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Death, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Suicide, Alcoholism, War, and Mental illness