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Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'
A Discovery of Witches (Movie Tie-In) by Deborah Harkness
89 reviews
imogenlj's review against another edition
3.25
If you liked Twilight, you’ll like this. Fun, sexy and dangerous, with fleshed out characters and a pacy plot.
I have to note that I found the main character Diana infuriating throughout as she happily and willingly left the decision making to those around her while she drank tea! But, I started this after seeing the TV show and it did push me out of a reading slump.
I have to note that I found the main character Diana infuriating throughout as she happily and willingly left the decision making to those around her while she drank tea! But, I started this after seeing the TV show and it did push me out of a reading slump.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
emmasiporatyler's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
My rating is probably skewed because it took me a million years to read this book! But that doesn’t mean that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy it!! I think it was just a first-time kindle user thing. A friend pitched it to me as “Twilight but if Bella had agency” and they were so right! I loved the academic setting, the unique types of sorcery, and of course the romance. At times the plot/their relationship felt choppy for me but that might have been because of my reading habits. Starting from about halfway through onward I was HOOKED and I will definitely be finishing the series at some point in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Confinement, Torture, Blood, and War
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, and War
kgreer's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book is the love child of Twilight and Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries. It is the intersection between academia and vampires.
As a STEM girly, I enjoyed the way the author explained magic with “science” (even though it was a little ridiculous and the non-magical science parts weren’t always correct - but it’s a fantasy book so I let that go)!
The beginning was slow but then picked up once the romantic interest started becoming relevant. At some points, I felt like the main character lost parts of who she was (independent, precautious, studious) as the story continued. Part of this change was ~character growth and development~ but part of her changes felt like it was just to fit the romance. And to me, without the romance, the plot wouldn’t have been as interesting.
It should be said that the main character had to confront suppressed parts of herself and deal with some hefty trauma - so who am I to critique how the author envisioned/wrote about how the character reacts to all that. In the end does it really matter that the character seemed whishy-washy at times? I did not read this book for a world based in reality or for a main character that would react like I would - so all and all, I did not hate the book but it’s not my favorite.
I may try reading the next book and I am hoping it picks up and gets straight to the action and drama!
As a STEM girly, I enjoyed the way the author explained magic with “science” (even though it was a little ridiculous and the non-magical science parts weren’t always correct - but it’s a fantasy book so I let that go)!
The beginning was slow but then picked up once the romantic interest started becoming relevant. At some points, I felt like the main character lost parts of who she was (independent, precautious, studious) as the story continued. Part of this change was ~character growth and development~ but part of her changes felt like it was just to fit the romance. And to me, without the romance, the plot wouldn’t have been as interesting.
It should be said that the main character had to confront suppressed parts of herself and deal with some hefty trauma - so who am I to critique how the author envisioned/wrote about how the character reacts to all that. In the end does it really matter that the character seemed whishy-washy at times? I did not read this book for a world based in reality or for a main character that would react like I would - so all and all, I did not hate the book but it’s not my favorite.
I may try reading the next book and I am hoping it picks up and gets straight to the action and drama!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Death of parent
khaben31's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Blood
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Death of parent
abby_can_read's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
📖
I went back and forth on what I wanted to rate this. I have mixed feeling about this book.
Based on the blurb, I was excited. I thought this sounded great. I think this book had a great start and based on the summary, I knew the love story of Diana and Matthew was coming. I liked that Diana was older and she had life experience before meeting Matthew and them getting involved.
I started to lose interested around the time Matthew watched her sleeping, but I stuck with the book. I lost more interest as the relationship between Diana and Matthew developed.
I went into this book hoping it was a more mature and developed version of Twilight -- mainly featuring a better female character and a better romance. I don't think I had unreasonable hopes/expectations. But neither of those panned out for me.
The plot wasn't horrible, though I found to be predictable. The writing style was okay. The characters, mainly Diana, had me going back and forth and I still can't really decide how I feel beyond I think they were flat and some of the character development went backwards. I'm not really sure what I think about the relationships, mainly the one between Matthew and Diana. I can't decide if it's better or worse than Edward and Bella.
Despite my mixed feelings, overall I did enjoy reading this book. I plan to read the sequel. I have low exceptions and I'm curious how this series will compare to Twilight.
I went back and forth on what I wanted to rate this. I have mixed feeling about this book.
Based on the blurb, I was excited. I thought this sounded great. I think this book had a great start and based on the summary, I knew the love story of Diana and Matthew was coming. I liked that Diana was older and she had life experience before meeting Matthew and them getting involved.
I started to lose interested around the time Matthew watched her sleeping, but I stuck with the book. I lost more interest as the relationship between Diana and Matthew developed.
I went into this book hoping it was a more mature and developed version of Twilight -- mainly featuring a better female character and a better romance. I don't think I had unreasonable hopes/expectations. But neither of those panned out for me.
The plot wasn't horrible, though I found to be predictable. The writing style was okay. The characters, mainly Diana, had me going back and forth and I still can't really decide how I feel beyond I think they were flat and some of the character development went backwards. I'm not really sure what I think about the relationships, mainly the one between Matthew and Diana. I can't decide if it's better or worse than Edward and Bella.
Despite my mixed feelings, overall I did enjoy reading this book. I plan to read the sequel. I have low exceptions and I'm curious how this series will compare to Twilight.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Medical content
nuttus's review against another edition
The plot is dragging and filled with unnecessary descriptions about wine, tea, food, exercise, smells, alchemy and I don’t even remember what else. Descriptions that seemed to be just there only for the sake of being there. They had nothing to do with the plot or anything but making the book longer than necessary. Editor of the book did not do their job for leaving them there.
The characters at the beginning were interesting, but as the book progressed they lost all their personality. Instead of development they had a decline, especially Diana. The autonomous, strong willed and smart professor became a weak damsel in distress acting like a scared child, depending on the vampire to make every single decision for her - what she was and wasn’t allowed to do.
Which brings us to Matthew who is nothing more than an alpha male podcaster who has no other reason to be obeyed than a because I say so. At first our heroine is not cool with that, until she seems to start suffering from Stockholm syndrome and just obeyes. Matthew is also manipulative, secretive and possessive douche who veils all of that to being concerned about Diana’s safety and just shrugs his shoulders saying that’s just me. Zero willingness to learn anything else.
Diana is also so ridiculously overpowered that it’s not believable. First she doesn’t want to use her magic and then she can’t. And then she suddenly learns do it perfectly in five minutes. All this screams an Y/N wattpad fanfic written by a 10-year old.
Oh and I’m having a hard time understanding how this heroine is a respected scholar when she is literally so dumb that it takes her almost the whole book to understand that her mother told her her future in stories. Even if the mom literally tells her the story while she is living it at the moment. How can someone so dumb be a scientist? Before realizing this she of course had to have a melodramatic self pity temper tantrum.
The plot line also is all over the place. There is secret society or two, a magical manuscript, Diana’s superpowers, death of her parents, forbidden love story and a slow extinction of creatures. With all this going on, not much really happens in the book. Like at all. They just drink wine and read crazy old books, smell each other and sleep together while whispering cheesy crap to each other.
The characters at the beginning were interesting, but as the book progressed they lost all their personality. Instead of development they had a decline, especially Diana. The autonomous, strong willed and smart professor became a weak damsel in distress acting like a scared child, depending on the vampire to make every single decision for her - what she was and wasn’t allowed to do.
Which brings us to Matthew who is nothing more than an alpha male podcaster who has no other reason to be obeyed than a because I say so. At first our heroine is not cool with that, until she seems to start suffering from Stockholm syndrome and just obeyes. Matthew is also manipulative, secretive and possessive douche who veils all of that to being concerned about Diana’s safety and just shrugs his shoulders saying that’s just me. Zero willingness to learn anything else.
Diana is also so ridiculously overpowered that it’s not believable. First she doesn’t want to use her magic and then she can’t. And then she suddenly learns do it perfectly in five minutes. All this screams an Y/N wattpad fanfic written by a 10-year old.
Oh and I’m having a hard time understanding how this heroine is a respected scholar when she is literally so dumb that it takes her almost the whole book to understand that her mother told her her future in stories. Even if the mom literally tells her the story while she is living it at the moment. How can someone so dumb be a scientist? Before realizing this she of course had to have a melodramatic self pity temper tantrum.
The plot line also is all over the place. There is secret society or two, a magical manuscript, Diana’s superpowers, death of her parents, forbidden love story and a slow extinction of creatures. With all this going on, not much really happens in the book. Like at all. They just drink wine and read crazy old books, smell each other and sleep together while whispering cheesy crap to each other.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol
karen_lo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-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
3.5
3.5 stars
I enjoyed the vibes and rich descriptions of this book. It's very cozy to immerse yourself in the characters' routines and hobbies.
It's a sloooow burn (very slow) but beautifully written.
There were some aspects of the characters' personalities that I didn't like much, hence my punctuation. Overall, it's a great book for getting lost in Dark Academia vibes, fantasy, and lots of history! 📚
I enjoyed the vibes and rich descriptions of this book. It's very cozy to immerse yourself in the characters' routines and hobbies.
It's a sloooow burn (very slow) but beautifully written.
There were some aspects of the characters' personalities that I didn't like much, hence my punctuation. Overall, it's a great book for getting lost in Dark Academia vibes, fantasy, and lots of history! 📚
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Torture and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content
pewterwolf's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75
At the time of writing this, this would be my fourth time reading this (though I have only read the series through once), and while I am a fan of this world and the characters, there are little things that irritated me (pacing, when important information is shared to the reader [and this is a very detail-heavy book], a tad insta-love for my taste).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Kidnapping, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Death of parent and War
annaroles's review against another edition
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Death of parent, and Gaslighting