Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

8 reviews

mels_reading_log's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

5.0

“It’s not that we are witches or faeries or that we deny God. It is that we are more beautiful and strong together than apart.”  Men are scared of things they don’t understand. During the Witch Trials they hunted and murdered anyone who was different or skilled in a way they were ignorant to, all the while standing behind God as if He would endorse such foolishness. This story is the fictional story of the real Hester Prynne of the Scarlet Letter. I loved the strength, grit and determination of the outcast characters. They saw who they could trust and stuck together. This was such a good book!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Death, Grief, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Pregnancy, Slavery, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Violence

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I enjoyed this fictionalized version of the writing of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.  Even without the ties to the classic book, it was a wonderful historical novel set in Salem in the 1600s.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Physical abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Racism, Vomit, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Slavery

Moderate: Sexual content

spineofthesaurus's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Alcoholism, Child death, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Colonisation, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Racial slurs, Abandonment, Death of parent, Confinement, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Terminal illness, Abortion, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Slavery, and Sexual content

Minor: Medical content, Incest, Vomit, Gun violence, and Excrement

kates_books's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious slow-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

3.5

I didn’t love this book, but it was an interesting concept. I enjoyed the light touches of magical realism, the range within the historical accounts (Scotland, the Salem witch trials, Americas slavery, etc), and the message of the power possible when women come together. I think it was an honest reflection of the darkness and cruelty of men. However, it moved pretty slowly for me. It really picked up in the last third but getting there was tedious. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Death, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Slavery

keyahnah's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Slavery, and Emotional abuse

bootsmom3's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Addiction, Infidelity, and Misogyny

Minor: Rape

erynlasbelin's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Slavery

Moderate: Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Classism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Religious bigotry, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, and Terminal illness

gretel7's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

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

3.5

An interesting read.  This gives a new twist to Hawthorne's classic.  And 'what if' Hester Prynne told her own story, this might be it.  

The writing has great flow, tragic characters and it was riveting that Synesthesia was used to help tell the story.

3.5☆

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Slavery