Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

Giftmakerskan by Sarah Penner

124 reviews

jenniferbowman's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Okay. So. Reviewing this is complicated, because throughout 90% of this book, I was very ready to rate this story 4.5/5 stars. Five stars if the ending wowed me (which I was hoping for). The majority of the book is compelling, and moves fairly quickly…for the most part, I don’t feel like any words are wasted.

HOWEVER…I was left scratching my head at the ending—from the quickly rolling pace of the climax on, I craved a surprise twist that would leave me reeling and chuckling with surprise. But…the loose ends, although tied up, did not feel complete.

When it comes to a book like this with multiple timelines, I want all of those timelines to be tied together in an inseparable way. This felt more like two separate stories that were related, BUT…I really wish they had been better connected as one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

deestreet's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicide, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia

mj_86's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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

3.75

If not for the last page, I would have given this 4.5 stars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Infertility, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Pedophilia and Sexual assault

booksoversecondbreakfast's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense 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

4.5

Overall, I loved this book, especially Caroline's (the modern character's) story. I enjoyed the fact that her story mirrored thematically the stories of the past. I also enjoyed the fact that the Nella kept her log book because she believed that women deserved to have their stories told, and I liked how this was reflected in Caroline's story in her investigation. It truly was a story of women helping other women, even if in a way that's shrouded in darkness. Everything got pulled together so neatly at the end and it was so poetic and satisfying.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicide attempt

heresyourletter's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

3.5

As a sucker for Kate Morton-esque books with multiple narrators set in different time periods and a strong mystery element, I enjoyed the book. I found the prose a tad repetitive, but the audiobook format meant I could zone out during the “recaps” and tune back in once the plot resumed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Death, Infertility, Sexism, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, and Blood

One character’s job is supplying women with poison to kill the men in their lives. Beetles are killed to make a poison. One minor character is an alcoholic. Infidelity is a prominent theme. An upperclass character uses her privilege to bully another character into doing her bidding. One character believes in ghosts and mentions feeling haunted by a character who died before the novel begins. Two different characters discuss trying (and failing) to have a baby.

One character miscarries after she is deliberately fed poison and grieves the loss of her unborn child throughout the book. Another minor character, who is mentioned but does not appear in the book, is a teenager who became pregnant by her employer’s husband and died in childbirth. A twelve-year old girl is groped by her employer’s husband. He also drugs her and attempts to sexually abuse her, but is stopped before this happens. One character is shown to be in a marriage with a man who tries to manipulate her and blame all his problems on her. One character is interrogated and another two are chased by police on suspected murder charges. One character is slowly dying from an unnamed illness (possibly cancer) and coughs up blood. One character plans to die by suicide, but ultimately does not go through with it. One character jumps off a bridge in a presumed suicide attempt, but is later shown to behave survived. One character drinks eucalyptus oil and is rushed to hospital, but ultimately survives.

grace33's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Murder

Moderate: Death and Suicide

Minor: Pedophilia and Sexual assault

chanlo1994's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

I've never had a book cause me so much anxiety before (for the character). So relatable, both in the realistic elements and mystical ones. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Minor: Sexual assault

brookey8888's review against another edition

adventurous 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

3.5

I really enjoyed this! It was a little slow and not what I was expecting so that’s why I’m not rounding up to a four. I just found the concept very interesting and the different timelines. I’m not going to lie, I did not care about the present timeline because if you know me you know I loathe cheating. I’m so happy she didn’t get back with that man. One part did make me gasp because what an idiot of a man. The ending actually did make me emotional and I teared up a bit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Abortion, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism

_wilhelmine_'s review against another edition

adventurous mysterious relaxing 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, and Grief

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infertility, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Pedophilia, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

swiggitypika's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-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? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Suicide, and Murder