Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

114 reviews

raychelbennet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.25

I think I did this book a bit of a disservice by reading it immediately following a re-read of <i>The Luminous Dead</i>. 

I wasn't sure what I thought of this book until the last 5% (which is unusual for me). I really enjoyed Jane as a character, I was interested in her experiences in Lindridge Hall, and I wanted her to get what she wanted out of life. But I couldn't bring myself to truly care about Augustine and I was confused by the pacing. Sometimes it felt meandering with no end point (conveniently like what I imagine the cellars beneath Lindridge Hall to be like) and other times it felt hasty and rapid-fire. I did feel consistently off-kilter and I was never sure where the plot was going. 

Due to these concerns, I was under the impression this was going to be a solidly middle-of-the-road book. Excellent plot, inconsistent pacing, and a strong protagonist but wishy-wishy supporting characters. However, to my surprise, the last 10% of the book wrapped everything up beautifully for me. I can't say I completely understood the plot or what was happening but the ending is that kind of open-ended, not-totally-resolved denouement that I find perfect. It was resolved in what I am realizing might be a signature of Caitlin Starling.

This is somewhere between a four and a five for me, so lowered just a smidge because <i>The Luminous Dead</i> remains my favorite. All-in-all, I can't wait to see what else Caitlin Starling writes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content and Medical trauma

Moderate: Death, Gore, and Excrement

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War

writer_lian's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-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

4.5

Soooo perfectly gothic. I love Jane, she's pretty relatable and has autistic swag to be honest. I found the beginning to be a little slow and her infatuation with Augustine to be slightly far fetched even at the end. He doesn't deserve her!! However, I think that element just didn't resonate with me and textually its well justified. The classically gothic elements are so delicious, I found myself smiling as the dread and horror mounted. It'a very rooted in the time period even as the author explores some more post modern-ish threads within the plot. Highly recommend to both well read gothic horror fans and new readers of the genre.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Gore, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Gaslighting and War

lipstickitotheman's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

Nice gothic horror! 

Half of the way in, I was thinking that there was NO WAY that I had only read half, what more can this lady go through. Well!

Woe to the power of shame

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

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

faerylibrary's review

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

I enjoyed this book, although it is definitely not a book for everyone. My reason not scoring higher is that the magic system in the setting for this story felt like it could have used some more explanation. Overall, I liked the fact that magic was explored, appreciated the way in which the story unfolded, and found the Victorian surgery scenes to be perfectly eery and unsettling! The unreliable narration, especially as the book descends into madness at the end, kept me interested and engaged. Not all of my questions about the reality of events in this story were quite answered by the ending, but perhaps they didn’t need to be. I’m still grappling with the ending, but I believe it could be interpreted several different ways which I have mixed feelings about. One thing is for certain, I never quite was able to anticipate what would happen next while reading and that made this a real page turner! Lots of unexpected twists and turns occur in the latter half. Enjoy! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, and Medical content

Moderate: Confinement, Death, and Grief

Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War

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

lionfish_22's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use and Alcohol

maresuju's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Medical content

Moderate: Child death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Pregnancy

cokester's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Miscarriage, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

wild_avalon_lass's review

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

“I can think of little else,” he said, finally taking the ring from her and gently, so gently, slipping it onto her finger. “After just a few days, I find I’ve completely lost my mind over you.”

And so is The Death of Jane Lawrence: A mind-losing, world-tilting, reality-altering read that left my head spinning...but in a good way.

Caitlin Starling is a genius, and that mad touch of brilliance is obvious in her leading lady, Jane Shoringfield Lawrence.
It was incredibly refreshing to read a book with a leading lady who fully felt IN CHARGE of each moment, even the moments where reality was slipping from her grasp, where she was teetering on the edge of insanity, Jane felt completely whole, herself, and in control of the moment.

All Dr. Augustine Lawrence had to do was sit there and be pretty (he succeeded in that...most of the time) and let his wife save him from his own self-inflicted tragedy (....did he succeed in that? Who knows).

I saw this book advertised for "fans of Crimson Peak" (hello! That's me!) and boy, did it deliver: ghosts, curses, tragic gothic men, women walking the razor edge of brilliance or madness, lots of rain, lots of mud, and a crumbling, destructive house in the center of it all.

Absolutely worth the read...although you WILL feel (in the final few pages) as though you are not at all smart enough to keep up with how quickly revelations are coming to life and how whiplash-smart Jane's brain is. Kudos to Starling for that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, and Medical content

Moderate: Sexual content