Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Witches of Vardø by Anya Bergman

5 reviews

bellsdixon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

janey_bones's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

ninamanon's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

A harrowing feminist tale about sisterhood, power, and justice. I loved Ingeborg and Maren instantly; they drew me into the story. I had a more difficult time getting through Fru Anna’s chapters, as she reads as haughty and annoyingly delusional, a sort of pick me girl. She irritated me greatly in the beginning, but the strength of the book was that the further you got into her story, the more you understood how she became the way she was, and in the end I couldn’t fault her and merely felt sorry for her, as I did for every other woman in the book. As for the ending,

I loved it: I loved how the conflict was resolved, how it ended with a shimmer of hope, how every single girl and woman was liberated in one way or another. I especially loved Maren and Elisa’s future: it is so beautiful to find a queer historical story that doesn’t end in misery. I will think of them often.

The prose was beautiful; I did have to get used to the first person narrative, and I struggled a bit at around the 30% mark, as Anna was boring me a bit with her tedious stories of her past lover, but as I said, I now understand their purpose. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

tigglez's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

writingcaia's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

This is a haunting slow paced fictional tale inspired by the real persecution, and murder of those considered witches in Vardø in the 17th century.
The superstition so far north in the kingdom of Denmark and Norway was kindling for the fires that burned so many innocent women, children and the ones, like the semi-nomadic sámi, that didn’t fit, that worshiped other gods.
Here we have a mix of past and present women’s strife in a lyrical narrative telling the interwoven story of a three women and three children arrested for being witches, and that of one noblewoman sharing the same castle exiled by the king for being too outspoken and not going into the shadows as old women are meant to.
The story is told in mostly two POVs, that of one of the teens, sister and daughter of other accused, and the other the noblewoman’s. With some Nordic stories in between parts.
As the author says this book is one to give voice to the thousands of innocents murdered by the fearful, hateful and petty that manipulated the minds of the superstitious and aggrieved, and to make them echo into the present and future, forever living in the hearts of the people like them.
It’s slow going especially in the beginning but so worth it to push forth and dive into this dark, cold, violent, vibrant and fiery story where women suffer, die, but also persist and find happiness, searching inside for their inner lynx, their fierceness and royal-ness.



P. S.: The mention to the Sámi made me research them and find they’ve been always persecuted and pushed to conversations, it made me want to find more and read from their natives and hear their songs. To make their voice heard louder. They who’ve withstand, these natives to the Laplands with their gods and reindeers, with their songs and colors.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Hate crime, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual violence, and Torture

Minor: Animal cruelty