Reviews tagging 'Death'

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

13 reviews

zoeshmoee's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-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

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, and Domestic abuse

basil_touche'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I enjoyed the atmosphere and mystery in the first half of the book, but the later half really dragged on and meandered in parts. The fact that this book is well known for

smuggling and wreckers

but in reality features very little of it was very disappointing.

The main twist was incredibly predictable & how the narrative described the villain seemed a tad ableist to me. With that, the final act didn't live up to the build up the book was trying to create and went out with a wimper. I found it very difficult to make it through the last 100 pages or so, and I lost count over how many times the moors were described. It seemed as though the description took over the narrative for large chunks of it and when the scenery is mostly empty moors it gets repetitive. fast.

The romance was so lackluster as well, there wasn't enough time spent on it and some of their interactions came off as creepy, so that how it ended

(that Mary gives up her hopes of returning home to travel with Jem Merlyn, who very clearly doesn't see her as his equal)

annoyed me. Also there's a lot of sexism, I know it's from the 1930s but even for what I've read of Du Maurier's other works there is quite a lot here. Please read Frenchman's Creek by Du Maurier instead if you want to read a good romance by her.

This just wasn't what I was looking for, perhaps I'll have better luck with Rebecca if I want some good gothic literature from her and Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner for a story about

smuggling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, and Sexual assault

Minor: Racial slurs and Death of parent

kirstym25's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent

bookwormcat's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

machenn's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol

blewballoon's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

There is a lot of unpleasantness in this story. Most of the characters are terrible people, the atmosphere is bleak, and there's a sense of isolation for the main character as she deals with a lot of difficulties alone. I did like her, she's smart and she fights back as hard as she can when faced with any kind of attack, mental or physical. If it weren't for her strength of spirit, the book would have been rough to get through. I didn't care for the romance, though. Overall, not as appealing as Rebecca but it does build a strong sense of atmosphere and the prose is well done.

Bit of unfortunate implication for the albino person to be evil, even with the main character trying to remind herself not to be creeped out by his appearance before he's revealed as the villain

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty

gloriazthompson's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-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

3.0

This was just too dark and depressing for too long, and I didn't care for the romance (at all).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Domestic abuse

phantomgecko'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

3.5

Dark, mysterious, upsetting. The twist

the albino being the kingpin

was predictable, but that's not a criticism.

All the paganism stuff seemed really rushed, though, so Francis's motivations weren't exactly fleshed out. Like, I knew he was behind things, but I still don't really know why.

My biggest complaint, tbh, was the narrator of the audiobook was a guy. I never felt connected to Mary because the voice he gave her was ridiculous. idk why a novel with a female protagonist was narrated thus, but oh well.

All in all, it's no Rebecca but still alright. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism

Moderate: Bullying, Death, and Domestic abuse

yolanda_h's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent and Alcohol

booksandmo's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting