Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Stationery Shop of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

36 reviews

oddreads_nicolestins's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? No

5.0

This book was a whirlwind! I really enjoyed how Marjan took us from the past to the present throughout. The plot twists were twisting, and I enjoyed the way Marjan set up the plot. I'm not a big romance reader- honestly this is one of two books I've read with romance as a main theme. Without giving away spoilers, the romance between Roya and Bahman was very sweet and definitely portrayed young love at it's finest. The drama between the adults was where the true tea simmered! Aside from the romance elements, I also appreciated the historical/cultural backdrop of the book and learned so much about 1950s Tehran! Highly recommend if you're into historical fiction/romance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Grief, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child death, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Minor: Vomit and War

spellygirl's review against another edition

reflective sad 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

2.75

It's a pretty good book, just a bit slow for my taste, and a lot of back and forth between times/people. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Grief, Murder, and War

Moderate: Blood, Abortion, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Cancer and Terminal illness

sydneywhite's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Grief, Abortion, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual assault and Blood

Minor: Chronic illness

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

this absolutely wrecked me. i cried in public reading this. 

it was so enlightening on the tribulations many Iranian people faced during that time. i felt my heart break when the characters faced grief and loss.

i would recommend this 1000%, please just check trigger warnings!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

bandysbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense 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

A couple months back, I found The Stationery Shop on the shelves of my local used bookstore. The cover was so stunningly beautiful that I picked it up without really knowing what it was about. Lucky for me, it is mostly a historical fiction set in Iran with some romance mixed in. The book follows Roya and Bahman as they witness political protests, attempted coups, and eventually fall in love with each other. 

First of all, I really loved the way the author brought Iran to life. The setting is almost a character of its own as it is so present and involved in the plotline. I could fully imagine the stationery shop, the markets, and everything in between. It reminded me a lot of some of my own travels in the Middle East and I absolutely loved that sense of nostalgia from the reading. 

Additionally, I loved Roya as a main character. She is clever, opinionated, and knows what she wants. She is a good daughter to her family and a loyal partner to Bahman when they fall in love. I felt a rapport with her immediately and continued to feel it throughout. 

I also enjoyed the way the story was split between past and present. Sometimes when there is a split timeline in stories, one timeline is stronger than the other. That is not the case here. I loved both timelines and love the way the two timelines eventually come together. 

My only real critique of the book is that the main source of conflict could've been so easily resolved. I won't give details here as I don't want to spoil the book, but suffice it to say, that you can't think about the conflict too deeply or it creates a bit of a hole in the story. 

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it without reservation to anyone who likes historical fiction and romance. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Gun violence, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexism, Blood, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Abortion

city_girl_writer's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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? No

5.0

This book made me wanna try Persian food

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Suicide attempt

kiandrareadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

nagaruyi06's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad fast-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

3.75

I loved it and i would recommend people to read it. It is such an emotional book,literally cried at the end it is so informative about irans politics and revolution and i also loved the character development and there was some transition mostly because of the culture shock.loved it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, and Abandonment

Moderate: Death and Emotional abuse

wellreadjill_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, War, and Classism