Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Familiars by Stacey Halls

22 reviews

rangerwing75's review against another edition

2.5

The plot wasn’t for me. The only thing I really liked was Alice and Fleetwood’s friendship. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Blood

Moderate: Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder

Minor: Rape, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Adult/minor relationship

yolanda_h's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, and Confinement

yikeslou's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

In case, like me, you're ridden with furious anxiety throughout this book and want a spoiler free reassurance: it all works out. Just you wait and see how!

Anyway let's talk about how Alice was a better husband to Fleetwood throughout that whole book. Every man in this is evil and should get hemorrhoids.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Medical content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Vomit

Moderate: Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Infidelity, and Miscarriage

Minor: Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Sexual content, and Death of parent

Main character is seventeen years old and married to a man a few years older than her, as was common at the time. MC occasionally hints at an instance of sexual abuse in her childhood before discussing it in depth at the end of the book

the_bees_books's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-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

3.25

If you're interested in the Lancashire witch trials, historical misogyny and historical thrillers, read this! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Infertility, Sexism, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Confinement, and Death

livlostinstereo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Excrement, Miscarriage, Vomit, Medical trauma, and Police brutality

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Infidelity

Minor: Rape

kibiiiariii's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Blood, Infertility, Rape, Ableism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Classism, Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Child death, Gaslighting, and Animal cruelty

chloemakesbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.0

A good story. Could have used a little haircut, and a deeply flawed main character that I don't think I liked... And a heaping dose of classism. I wanted a little more historic in my fiction, I think. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Sexism

Moderate: Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Classism, Child death, Pedophilia, Confinement, and Alcoholism

Minor: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

creativeworld's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This book was a lot slow paced than Mrs England and I didn't enjoy it as much. The characters were based on real people during the witch trials which I loved! The second half really picks up so if you are struggling stick with it, it does get more exciting toward the end.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Infertility, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Vomit, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, and Death

shanno_h0's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Adult/minor relationship

heather_lt's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? No

4.5

My first Stacey Halls novel and I wasn't disappointed.

The Familiars is set during the frenzy of the witch hunts in the 17th century, specifically the Pendle witch trials in Lancashire. The story isn't necessarily about the witch trials, but rather follows a desperate young woman who happens to  befriend one of the women accused of witchcraft and from there the author brings to life a fictional explaination for why Alice Gray was the only accused witch to be acquitted. 

This book held me firmly in its grip from start to finish. I enjoyed so much about it - the general sombre atmosphere with that fantastic creeping sense of dread, the descriptive writing giving a sense of otherworldliness, and the relationships the main character has with her husband, her mother, and her friend. 

4.5 stars because I have a slight issue with the ending... Everything was wrapped up a little too neatly for my liking, everything explained with everyone at peace. Too picture perfect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

Moderate: Child death, Blood, Grief, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Adult/minor relationship