Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Dochters van Sparta by Claire Heywood

15 reviews

icarusandthesun's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative slow-paced

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

3.5

a greatly informative book with freshly interesting new perspectives. i really enjoyed reading about helen and klytemnestra, especially their childhoods, and the life at court for a woman and (house)wife as well.
still, i thought the characters were pretty... vanilla? like especially the men. you hear stories about the men's rage and bitterness, about the sexism and misogyny, but the men in this book were kind of ... alright i guess?
they were abusive sometimes and assholes of course, but when it came down to it, all they did was scream, mostly. and menelaos was like a puppy idk
i also thought the book was too slow and long in the wrong places. helen's and klytemnestra's childhoods were interesting, but you could keep it shorter. for the first half of the book not a lot really happened. i had wished for more infos and stories beyond the trojan war, explore the lives after, but it just cut off there, after the war had ended.

really addictive writing tho, would still definitely recommend. an informative, lyrical gem—with flaws:)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and War

Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, and Medical trauma

Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual content, and Death of parent

abfabulous17's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Minor: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, and Suicide

annasbookreviews's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

therealslimkatie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

Hard to get into but did pick up. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

rileepickle's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense 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

3.25

I really enjoyed this novel, especially towards the end. I think the biggest issue I had with it was that it shifted from focusing on Klytemnestra to focusing on Helen in the latter parts of the novel. I found Klytemnestra's story much more interesting than Helen's, although Helen's was intriguing as well. I didn't like the way this novel ended, and had more questions about some of the plot points that weren't answered. Overall though, a fun and emotional read with lots of jarring scenes and important themes. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment