Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Зникнення аптекарки by Sarah Penner

52 reviews

jenniferbowman's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Okay. So. Reviewing this is complicated, because throughout 90% of this book, I was very ready to rate this story 4.5/5 stars. Five stars if the ending wowed me (which I was hoping for). The majority of the book is compelling, and moves fairly quickly…for the most part, I don’t feel like any words are wasted.

HOWEVER…I was left scratching my head at the ending—from the quickly rolling pace of the climax on, I craved a surprise twist that would leave me reeling and chuckling with surprise. But…the loose ends, although tied up, did not feel complete.

When it comes to a book like this with multiple timelines, I want all of those timelines to be tied together in an inseparable way. This felt more like two separate stories that were related, BUT…I really wish they had been better connected as one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

bluebellfallen's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

1.25

This book felt like a lot of ideas of story lines or plots that an author brainstormed, added a page count to, and then published without any further thought. The characters are deeply rooted in sexism and patriarchy, even though the author seems to imply this is a feminist, women-empowering kind of novel. It isn't. 

Every single plot is centered around women wanting children and whether or not they have them and how that ruins or fulfills their lives after. Every single one. All of them. (I don't get it)

There are so many flaws (and I have so few spoons right now) that I will just say - it wasn't a good book, and it certainly wasn't the right kind of bad to be worth reading. 75% or more of the book crawled by, while the last 25% did all the heavy lifting in the most annoying, James Patterson writes chapters that are max 2 pages long and then jumps perspectives / scenes entirely to keep the tension up and he inspired me - esque way. 

It just wasn't (in any way) worth my time, but because it's so mildly written and the author tries to hide behind "dark murder mystery" vibes to get away with a lot of shitty things (and the book isn't even a dark murder mystery btw - that's just the vibes she's going for), it would also be so very easy to just think "wow, that book was mid, but I wouldn't mind recommending the book if someone is bored or something", and then accidentally pass on, perpetuate, and re-normalize things like baby-obsession and "casual" emotional and mental manipulation at the hands of a spouse (which - if you know, you *know*).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

The husband thing, for if you don't know, want to know, but don't want to read the book:

The husband literally poisons himself to try and manipulate Caroline into staying with him after he cheated on her (you know, instead of apologizing). The police think she tried to kill him herself on purpose, and she is almost arrested because of it (and honestly, she should have been - that whole scene is also b.s., and is beYOND unrealistic). When she figures this out, she is briefly a little bit angry, but otherwise? Nothing. They part ways on relatively okay terms (they're not getting back together, but they're chill somehow??), she never tells the police what actually happened, and the author makes it very clear that they think this behavior was normal and fine. Not even ONCE does the author even beGIN to imply that this man needs help or that he's abusive (and yes, two things can be true at once - he needs help for this obvious mental health crisis, AND he's an emotionally and mentally abusive f*ck).

brookey8888's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-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

3.5

I really enjoyed this! It was a little slow and not what I was expecting so that’s why I’m not rounding up to a four. I just found the concept very interesting and the different timelines. I’m not going to lie, I did not care about the present timeline because if you know me you know I loathe cheating. I’m so happy she didn’t get back with that man. One part did make me gasp because what an idiot of a man. The ending actually did make me emotional and I teared up a bit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Abortion, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism

pinkupengu's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Incest, Terminal illness, and Violence

Minor: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Excrement

_wilhelmine_'s review against another edition

adventurous mysterious relaxing medium-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, and Grief

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infertility, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Pedophilia, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

dani__gomezz's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

3.75

I enjoyed this read! It’s fun and thought provoking, yet still a relatively light read. I loved the characters, especially Nella and Caroline. The parallels between timelines were really fun. I did not love the dialogue because it was kind of clunky, but the prose was light and very enjoyable and engaging.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

abigailhaagen's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

This book felt like it couldn't decide what tone it wanted to go with, so it threw in a bit of everything. Sad, dark, lighthearted, contemporary, historical... and the characters didn't seem particularly fleshed out either. I didn't root for anyone except Eliza. And nobody had a strong moral code in this book; characters seemed to switch between being ok with crime and not ok with it, without any particular reason. The writing was also mid; lots of telling instead of showing. And I don't think this book is particularly historically accurate, based on other readings about the 18th century I've done. But it wasn't awful to read, and I liked the premise of the poisonous apothecary. So not a bad book, but not a great one either.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Blood

mattiedancer's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-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

3.0

Writing: 3⭐️/5 

The writing was fine, adequate, presentable. A few times Penner had some really stunning lines, but mostly the writing did what needed to be done without too much flare or finesse. A lot of sections for backstory were lengthy, giving us a bit of information by flashback and then overexplaining the emotions of the situation. But overall the writing did enough to not get in the way.

Characters: 3.5⭐️/5

I think the characters in the historical sections were much more fascinating than our modern-day protagonist. While I appreciated that Caroline had a lot going on, I also felt like her half-telling of the story made me lose a bit of interest in what was going on. I loved her research-heavy mind, but it felt stunningly unbelievable the way in which she pursued her research so easily after so long. And, while the characters were interesting, they felt a bit surface at times, almost as though we never got a true glimpse of their whole beings.

Plot: 3⭐️/5 

Okay, so the concept? Super cool. The execution? Maybe that’s where I got lost. I loved everything about the apothecary. I even loved the slow unravelling of clues from Caroline’s side, but I also felt like that was the only thing that felt super fleshed out. All the details in the novel felt muddled, as though they were unclear and unformed. I also think that the end kind of undid some of the feminist points made throughout the novel, leaving kind of a sour taste in my mouth at the end.

Who Should Read This Book? 

• Fans of historical books that have a split POV with modern perspective
• Someone looking for a cool concept over everything else
• Fans of witchy history who are looking for an easy read

Content Warnings? 

• Pregnancy, adultery, murder, sexism, misogyny, rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, violence, abuse, child abuse, child death, death, death of parent, self-harm, suicide, suicide attempt, suicidal thoughts, terminal illness, poison, gun violence, medical trauma, classism, injury, injury detail, fire, pedophilia, incest, infertility 

Post-Reading Rating:  2.75⭐️/5

I just… wanted more? I liked the concept so much but I think everything else fell pretty flat.

Final Rating: 3⭐️/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

taylortome's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.5

A lovely little story about an apothecary turned deadly and it’s *downfall*. This story is more than what it seems. It is a journey for all characters as they discover themselves and their truths. It is written with multiple POV throughout different timelines. It is cohesive and concise and comes together well in the end. I did find it difficult to identify with and love the characters, though I understood the meaning of taking one’s own journey to discover themselves and what they truly find fulfilling in their lives. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity and Miscarriage

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

lyfeistrip's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cancer, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment