Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce

19 reviews

tamara_joy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Misogyny, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Vomit

beccalou's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-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

4.5

A slow start, but a beautiful story of the love between friends. It was adventurous, emotional and inspiring. I had quite low hopes, but got more and more involved as the story went on.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, and War

betherinahq's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

4.5

I loved this book! The two main characters were so loveable and their unlikely friendship was just so wonderful to witness developing over the pages. 

I love how Rachel Joyce has this way of writing such uplifting fiction without being too twee or trite. I think it’s because the main characters, while loveable, carry a sadness with them that we all do with every life experience we unlock. 

Like Harold Fry, she uses the “journey” style story to get these two women, who were born in an era where women didn’t travel the world in search for rare beetles, to reconcile their pasts and become empowered. 

A really good read! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

smdorsett's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Gun violence, Infertility, Grief, Death of parent, and Colonisation

argentdoe's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Torture, Violence, and War

Minor: Bullying, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Suicide

sarahflanders's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

abbie234's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War

Prisoner of war

annamontana's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

This is a story of friendship between unusual people. Not that they are unusual (but that is true too) but the friendship between them is not one that is expected and is beautiful because of it.
Miss Benson is stoic and a bit stodgy, but being raised by spinster aunts she comes by it naturally. Enid Pretty is flighty and a bit flaky but with a bit to naivety to her, even though she is not what really naïve.  (Here is my biggest complaint - I did not like how she was voiced in the audio. I think I would have liked her sooner if I had read it in print.) Together they go on an adventure that would change them forever.
I do think the ending was either too rushed or too contrived. To me the ending let down the rest of the book, and is the reason that this was not 5 stars. 
I have recently realized that I love a character who has a niche hobby and Miss Benson's beetle collecting is the perfect example. I love her geeking out on the beetles and I loved the detail that was given to the catching and mounting of the specimens. 
The setting of New Caledonia was beautiful and gave me one more destination to add to my travel list. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Infertility and Suicide

motleybooksandtea's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Miscarriage, and Suicide

Moderate: Animal death, Fatphobia, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Minor: Blood

bookish_houseplant's review

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Rachel Joyce is my favorite author. Every book of hers I've read I loved, and this is no different. Although historical fiction and adventure are usually not my favorite genres, this book has such wonderfully rounded characters who are really the stars. I said it's complicated if the cast of characters is diverse. I think what that question is asking is if there is a range of races, ethnicities, orientations, etc. Personally if a book has those things mentioned but each character sounds roughly the same, just "diversity" for the sake of it, I don't think of it as diverse. This book, though, each character has a wildly different background, way of viewing life, and voice, and in that way it is very diverse. And that's why I love Rachel Joyce's books in general. She understands the differences in people and captures them so well, even characters less important to the plot get a little bit of background to explain where they're at in life and why they are the way they are. I love it so much. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War

There is no war currently going on, but there is a character with PTSD from the recent war.