Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

25 reviews

sxndaze's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

Once he said, I invented you and you came. Now he's saying the opposite: that I am the conjurer, and he is the conjured.

gorgeous and fascinating. the twist on the scarlett letter’s origin story is interesting to weird and isobel is a great character to read. it drags a at times,but the payoff is good

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content

mels_reading_log's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

5.0

“It’s not that we are witches or faeries or that we deny God. It is that we are more beautiful and strong together than apart.”  Men are scared of things they don’t understand. During the Witch Trials they hunted and murdered anyone who was different or skilled in a way they were ignorant to, all the while standing behind God as if He would endorse such foolishness. This story is the fictional story of the real Hester Prynne of the Scarlet Letter. I loved the strength, grit and determination of the outcast characters. They saw who they could trust and stuck together. This was such a good book!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Death, Grief, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Pregnancy, Slavery, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Violence

kimveach's review

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-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

4.0

I enjoyed this fictionalized version of the writing of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.  Even without the ties to the classic book, it was a wonderful historical novel set in Salem in the 1600s.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Physical abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Racism, Vomit, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Slavery

Moderate: Sexual content

redheadorganist's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Blood, and Drug use

Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, and Addiction

spineofthesaurus's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Alcoholism, Child death, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Colonisation, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Racial slurs, Abandonment, Death of parent, Confinement, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Terminal illness, Abortion, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Slavery, and Sexual content

Minor: Medical content, Incest, Vomit, Gun violence, and Excrement

brichneyfloss's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Pregnancy, and Infidelity

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Slavery, and Grief

jmschnepp's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense slow-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

3.75

Hester is the story of Isobel Gambel. She comes to America from her homeland, Scotland, with her husband, Edward. They leave Scotland to escape the poor house.

Edward signed on with Captain Darling for travel and trade. While he's gone, Isobel becomes close with Nathaniel Hawthorne. What ensues is an affair that produces a child and one of the most important and well-known pieces of literary fiction ever written.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Infidelity, Violence, Addiction, Slavery, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

atamano's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Infidelity, Classism, Misogyny, and Racism

Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Pregnancy, Slavery, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Death of parent, Sexual content, and Vomit

megwilli's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Drug abuse

laheath's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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

4.0

Although I had fantastic English teachers in high school, I remember the study of The Scarlet Letter being dry though the story was pretty good overall.  This book imagines the origin of Hawthorne's inspiration for that book.  With the inclusion of such details as strong female characters, references to the Salem witch trials and the Underground Railroad, and issues such as classism, equality, and freedom, this is a very interesting story of a woman making her way in the world with her own gifts.

Unfortunately, once again, the audiobook does not include the author's notes, which I've been told detail her research.  These should never be left out of audiobooks!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Moderate: Sexism, Slavery, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Racism, and Abortion

Minor: Sexual content, Drug use, and Classism