Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Dead Queens Club by Hannah Capin

5 reviews

liesthemoontells's review against another edition

funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

I read this book this based on a recommendation from an academic featured on the Not Just the Tudors podcast, who praised it for its novel reinterpretation of the six wives of Henry VIII and its play on their well-worn tropes. And it was... Fine?

The characters are insufferable, the dialogue comes from the Diablo Cody school of "no teenager actually speaks like this", and much of the mystery of the plot comes from it's confusing chronology rather than careful plotting. If we're picking modern representations of the six wives for an audience of adolescent girls, the musical Six does it much better.

That being said, it was entertaining and, like Six, may be successful in humanising its historical subjects for its target audience.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

vireadsslowly's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

Book drags could've wrapped it earlier lots back forth on theories what happened
Not much character development very one note for most characters
Was interesting at first, historical references good potential but dropped ball so bad skipped to see what ending was before skimming rest of book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Misogyny and Gaslighting

Minor: Gun violence and Sexual content

chinesa72's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

tullykate_03's review against another edition

informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Dead Queens club is the perfect book for fans of Six the musical, the Tudors and anything relating to King Henry VIII wives. This contemporary retelling takes an interesting look into who these women were through a modern lens, it also gives a new perspective to this famous part of history by having Cleves (Wife number 4) be our storytelling, a wife that is usually overlooked. Overall if you're obsessed with Tudor history and have watched every show, read every book you must add this to your collection. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol

hannahet's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Bullying