Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

The Witches of Vardø by Anya Bergman

26 reviews

amber_lfor's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

Stunning book, and what an ending!

scrumblebooks's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.0

This is a brutal, dark, emotional read based, in part, on real people and events. A harrowing tale of life for women in 17th century Norway and how any misdeed or slip of the tongue could land you in serious peril. Difficult to read at times, though definitely worthwhile and the addition of occasional small folk tales and myths as well as hints of magical realism were welcome. I would certainly recommend this insightful book, although I would line up something decidedly lighter and altogether fluffier to read next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicide

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Infertility, Blood, and Pregnancy

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

rubywhatashmoo's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Miscarriage

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Domestic abuse

anapthine's review

dark emotional inspiring 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? No

4.5

 

Thank you NetGalley and Bonnier UK Audio for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Oh my word, this was amazing. It was gripping from start to finish. The stories of the women were full of emotion, vulnerability and strength - the characters were so well written. The narrator really added to this already great novel.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Infidelity

arayo's review

dark tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Child abuse, Excrement, Grief, and Death of parent

prettyflyforascienceguy's review

4.25

 This book is like The Crucible meets Norse Mythology. Based on the real and devastating events of the Norwegian witch hunts, Bergman does a beautiful job honoring the innocent victims that lost their lives while still writing a beautiful piece of literature.  What I loved most about this book (besides the nearly poetic prose) was how immersed I felt. One of my pet peeves is when historical fiction feels too modern or uses modern speech patterns. Everything about this story felt like a folktale and I was completely captivated. The middle got a little slow for me, pacing-wise, but that was my only complaint. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Miscarriage, Suicide, and Fire/Fire injury

na_no's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, Suicide, Torture, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Domestic abuse

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

lilyadams's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Miscarriage, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Excrement, and Pregnancy