Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Fiica doctorului Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

17 reviews

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Slavery, Racism, Animal death, Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Body horror, Colonisation, Death of parent, Violence, Gore, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Grief, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, War, Mental illness, Misogyny, Ableism, Sexual violence, Sexism, Chronic illness, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Cancer and Infertility

vixenreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

Half of the book is more about atmosphere than plot. Be patient, because you will get a thrilling climax once you get over the hump and see how the author subverts Wells’ sci-fi classic in the best possible way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Alcoholism, Blood, Confinement, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Slavery, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual violence, Body horror, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Gore

Minor: Drug use, Religious bigotry, War, Genocide, Dysphoria, Murder, and Chronic illness

Please remember to be aware of animal-human hybrids, death of a spouse, grief over a lost relationship, financial struggles, dehumanizations of slaves, attempted rape, animal violence, first sex experiences, narcissism, surrogacy, and experimentation on animals.

abril_chavez's review against another edition

emotional hopeful slow-paced

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

4.0

This book presents a fantastical, whimsical far away land that's been shaped by important politics and colonization of the time. It adds elements of a love story, not just your classic love story, but the love within a family, love for one's self, and how different sorts of love can be toxic. Although "love story" would not be the main way to describe this book; it's mostly a book about a family who's trying to stay together and hold onto the peace they've created for themselves in their isolated Hacienda when threat comes knocking on their door. If you've read The Island of Dr. Moreau, then you sort of know what to expect in terms of characters in the book. If you haven't, like me when I started this book, then you're in for an unexpected twist that makes the story so much better.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Religious bigotry, Medical content, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Body horror, War, and Toxic relationship

rhi_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Gaslighting, and Gun violence

Moderate: Toxic relationship

Minor: Blood, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Murder, Child abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Classism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Misogyny

linblythe_pub22's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

This book is great. I prefer other books by this author but that's not because the book doesn't measure up. It's because she's used the vehicle of period romance/period adventure/scientific romance to communicate class politics, racial politics, colonisation, imperialism, capitalism, feminism and intersectionality. I love the layers and themes of this but the genre is not my cup of tea. But for anyone wanting to learn more about the above themes or simply interested in period romance/period adventure/science romance, you'll love this book. It is so well researched and put together so seamlessly. You can see the neat references to the real time period and also the Island of Dr Moreau by HG Wells. It's beautifully written and a great escape.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexism, Racism, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Classism, Colonisation, and Death

jgalla's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, and Colonisation

Moderate: Classism, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Violence, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Gun violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Slavery

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexism, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Child death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Rape

alicelalicon's review against another edition

mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Grief, Violence, Body horror, Blood, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Animal death, Misogyny, Gun violence, Racism, Xenophobia, Alcohol, and Sexism

Moderate: Slavery, Death of parent, Child death, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Classism, Chronic illness, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment

amartin48's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

This is an excellent book for lovers of fables! Nothing terribly challenging or unpredictable happens, but it is an entertaining read that takes you right where you want to go, with a pinch of mystery along the way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Gore, Death, Emotional abuse, and Violence

Minor: Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Confinement, Gaslighting, Death of parent, and War

jessthanthree's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Colonisation, Blood, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Racism, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Violence, Gore, Religious bigotry, Death, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Gun violence

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Cannibalism

Minor: Child death

seawarrior's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

This book is for people who enjoy meandering, atmospheric historical fiction, which is far from how I'd describe myself. I only got halfway through the book on my first attempt, yet thankfully I'd reached the quicker part of the story when I returned to finish it months later. While I'd hoped this story would focus on Carlota's relationship to the hybrids, most of the narrative was dedicated to a tense will-they-won't-they relationship between her and an inappropriately older man. This story obviously ties into the history of Spanish colonialism, yet that theme was not layered for me to give it much praise. The writing style itself was decent, though much of the dialogue felt stiff. I was disappointed to find that this story is more of a slow-paced and tragic historical romance that anything else. If you expected a science fiction or political thriller, this is not the book for you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Slavery, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Pregnancy, and Sexual content