Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

10 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

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

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

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

gayghostprince's review against another edition

dark 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, Death, Gore, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Violence, Medical trauma, Murder, and War

Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Drug use, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

acashton's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Gore, and Violence

Minor: Child death, Death, Vomit, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

house_of_hannah's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

What a fresh take on the gothic horror genre. This book is definitely longer than it needs to be, as it does drag in the last 150 pages, but it is quite interesting, and left me guessing through the whole story. The summary gives nothing away, so I was surprised at some of the elements included.

One of the things I found odd about the book though, is that it doesn't take place in our world for some reason. The name of the country is Great Breltain, with very English sounding town names, so it was obvious what the area was based on. Just seemed like an uneeded change that actually took me out of the story whenever the country was mentioned.

This also isn't a book that you can just casually read and expect to understand everything. This thing is going to take some thought. There is even a chapter that is written in a purposefully confusing way, which I understand the intention behind it, but man did my head hurt a bit. I'm still not sure if I understand everything correctly.

This was close to being a five star read, but the things I've mentioned previously, plus some little things throughout the story, brought it down to a four for me. For example, I have never seen so many perfectly timed rain storms before in my life. There were just too many perfect coincidences for my taste.

However, I really enjoyed the writing, and I thought it brought to life the imagery so well. I feel like all the characters had value, and no one was a throw-away. The plot is well thought out, which I appreciate so freaking much. Jane is also a fantastic character, and if you're looking for a strong female protagonist who does not scream, "I'm not like other girls", then this book is for you !

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child death and Drug use

Minor: Miscarriage, Self harm, Vomit, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

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

petrolfox's review

dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Gaslighting, and War

Minor: Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

booksthatburn's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

THE DEATH OF JANE LAWRENCE is slow burn horror of the best kind, built on bridging the gaps between wishes, nightmares, and reality with fevered applications of blood and viscera. 

The setting is technically-not-England, which frees it from being beholden to any exact combination of surgical sensibilities with historical accuracy while still conveying a particular feeling by the sum of its details. A surgeon might know the term “ectopic” while still practicing bloodletting and looking down on anyone so backward as to subscribe to miasma theory. Jane is an excellent narrator, highly reliable in how she conveys her thoughts and observations to the reader, but repeatedly stymied as she is less and less able to trust what she learns from other people. I didn’t much like Augustine as a person but he fits his role in the plot very well and is a great character. I love the plot, the pacing is excellent, a great book all around.

Its ending is immensely satisfying, fitting for the characters and in keeping with the horrors which transpire before. If you like surgical horror with magic and madness, don’t miss this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gore, Miscarriage, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Terminal illness, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent