Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce

32 reviews

aargot1's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Torture, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia

cassielaj's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

This book is delightful. There’s so much more to the story than the blurb suggested — nuanced characters and universal themes wrapped up in a wildly entertaining story. Loved it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Suicide, Excrement, Death of parent, and Colonisation

annieliz's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

5.0

I loved this book. It's about friendship, and finding your place in the world as an individual- and as a woman. This is the book I've been longing for that I didn't know i needed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Suicide, Blood, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

bobbijopmh's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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

4.0

“We are not the things that happened to us. We can be what we like.”

A story of adventure across the world and finding your true vocation. 

This novel was not quite what I expected. I expected a light ‘book club’ type women’s adventure. But it was much more substantial than that. It’s somewhere between a crime caper, and adventure story, and a meaningful feminist journey of self-discovery. It’s about taking a risk to find what truly makes you happy. 

I enjoyed this book and read it quite quickly (2 days). The characters are well developed. The locations are described well enough that they begin to come to life. There is humour, and emotion, and suspense in just the right measures. As a nature lover I certainly enjoyed the entomology references too. 

Overall an easy four star read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

clarereadstheworld's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful medium-paced

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

4.0

A lovely read.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Pregnancy

bugthebard'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? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Miscarriage, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Racial slurs

arcookson's review against another edition

slow-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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Grief, and Stalking

Minor: Animal death, Death, and Gun violence

hollyd19's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny sad fast-paced

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

2.25

Miss Benson’s Beetle follows Margery Benson, a middle-aged domestic science teacher in post-war Britain. After a mental break loses her her job in one dramatic day, she decides to throw caution to the wind and go on an expedition to New Caledonia in search of a beetle she has been infatuated with her whole life. She puts a call out for an assistant, and ends up with a hot mess of a woman, Enid Pretty, accompanying her on her adventure.

Y’all, I wanted to love this book. It seemed charming and fun and has a totally-up-my-alley premise. But on the whole, I was pretty disappointed. 

First of all, this book has a lot more heavy themes than I expected given the synopsis and the various endorsements (words like “charming,” “brilliant,” and “marvelous”). I’ll put some content warnings at the bottom. Secondly, the character development felt spasmodic and inconsistent. Finally, there is a character called Mundic who I felt was an awkward, possibly even offensive, attempt at incorporating post-war PTSD into the narrative. Most of the chapters from his perspective left me unsettled and a little confused. 

Admittedly, I liked the second half better than the first. The two women found a bit more of a rhythm and their relationship took on a more believable tenor. That said, I cannot say I found it to be a satisfying to read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, and Infertility

berodatheelf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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

A great story about the power of female friendship

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder

isis's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

 

What a wonderful story of an unexpected, unconditional female friendship, and self-discovery. I had no idea what to expect from this book, but what I got was a longing for a friendship such as these two women had. It also had me looking at myself and what I truly want out of life. I felt a lot of feelings and did a lot of soul searching while reading Miss Benson's Beetle, and for me, that equates to a 5 star read.

Margery and Enid are both such well-developed characters, both with their own amusing eccentricities. I’m always a fan of The Odd Couple type friendships, and that’s exactly what this is. The impact they made on each other's lives were invaluable, but I especially enjoyed watching Margery become a totally different person by the end of the story.

I felt this story is a perfect blend of character and plot driven with good medium pacing. Rachel Joyce not only had me falling for Margery and Enid, but also for the setting of New Caledonia. She wrote so vividly of the area that I felt as if I had visited the area myself.

I think this is a great choice for anyone who enjoys adventure/explorer stories, unlikely/odd couple friendships, and well-developed characters.


CW: Suicide, miscarriage, POW torture, racial slurs, domestic violence, body shaming,

 

Thank you NetGalley and Dial Press for the review copy 

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Suicide, and Torture

Moderate: Body shaming

Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Miscarriage