Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

7 reviews

aparker89's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

karinamitc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Dysphoria

threeundertwopnw's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Self harm, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

buildingtaste's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

From the first chapter, I always felt like this book was not quite telling me everything I needed to know. Since the setting is an alternate England, I would have expected more direct exposition about the things that make it meaningfully different, and also for these differences to have an impact on the story. As it was, we were soon locked in a country house, fundamentally indistinguishable from an English house (except of course for

the haunted basement

. Though having never stayed in an English country house I guess I can't be sure). Simply setting this novel in a more familiar country, even if in a fictional town or county, would have made this experience much more grounded and improved the contrast of familiar and unfamiliar once things got really weird.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Medical content

Minor: Sexual content and Forced institutionalization

As a gothic horror novel, Jane Lawrence comes in fast with explicit gore. Elements of the magic system involve having something affecting a person's organs/moving inside their body, which

the protagonist

describes experiencing in detail.

naomi_k's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Dysphoria

Moderate: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Minor: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts

mo345's review

challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Alcohol

hanarama's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

 The Good:
• Intelligent MC
• Eerie setting
• Building tension

The Bad:
• Ending feels odd
• The larger world setting

You Might Like This if You Like:
• Crimson Peak 
• Netflix's The Haunting of Bly Manor and The Haunting of Hill House 

I feel like this book very nearly gave me what I wanted from it. The growing tension was excellent. The ghosts spooky. The secret society gave me Hellfire Club vibes. All this was great. However, I feel like it failed in the payoff and in some of the details outside of the central plot. 

I honestly have no idea why this story takes place in a separate world from our own. The setting is so similar to Victorian England, it feels bizarre that it's not. It's almost distracting to have made up places brought up in a genre that is more commonly set in real world locals. 

The final reveal of the story is okay. It just felt like a bit of a letdown after the events of the book. I expected things to go in a different direction, and despite some minor hints, this wasn't made really clear until very far into the story. 

A highlight of this story though is in the characters. Jane Shoringfield is an excellent character for a Gothic horror. She's smart and practical, making her later transformations all the more jarring. Dr. Lawrence is moody and confident, with a strong Byronic energy that fits the setting. 

In the end, this will probably appeal to fans of Netflix's Haunting series. The twist reminds me of the show, and less of a more traditional Gothic story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Self harm, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail