Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

20 reviews

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

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

2.75

I should really stop reading Kate Quinn. I keep trying to like her books, but I'm consistently bored by them. I think it's because this and the other two I read (The Rose Code and The Diamond Eye) are all set around the same time - during, between, or after one of the world wars. I'm guessing this is her niche - world war historical fiction. I don't love the historical fiction around this time in general. I also have found myself failing to invest in any of the characters. I think I like the story arcs, but I don't feel connected to the people in the stories because I feel her storytelling is flat.

Unfortunately, I have one book of hers left to read - The Phoenix Crown, which I won in a Goodreads giveaway. At least this one is cowritten with Janie Chang. Maybe that'll be the one that I like. Nonetheless, I'll wait a while before jumping back into Kate Quinn.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

msapocalypse's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

3.5

It's a story worth telling, and the Eve chapters were great, but the Charlie chapters really dragged it all down and were often a slog to get through. I think the story could have been told better without most of that. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

mbrogs2024's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Drug use, Gore, and Rape

cersmessenger's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War

saliwali's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

emjen16's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

2.75

I really struggled with this one. It is well written and well researched, but I had a hard time actually liking the book and the characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

shaylac's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

4.25

I was surprised by how much I liked this book even from changing from Charlie's and Eve's perspectives. The book takes on an adventure through England and France and teleports you back into time during WWI and after WWII With Charlie being somewhat naive view on life, she ends up growing more mature and independent and with Eve being a stubborn drunk who trying to resolve her demons from the past. It is a story that will excite you but also make you think about what is wrong and right.

TLDR: Go on an epic adventure through England and France with a motley crew from the perspective of Charlie and Eve. Teleporting you back to WWI and present day (1947) you'll be eagerly turning each page to see what happens next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Antisemitism, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content, Excrement, and Grief

Minor: Abortion

sabrina_d_arcy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Genocide, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Excrement, and Grief

cadybooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

lilifane's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

Loved it, but it was too long. Hear me out. 

This book is told from two perspectives in alternating chapter. 
In 1915, we follow Eve, who is trained as a spy and sent to Lille in German occupied France to gather and pass on information to the Alice Network, a network of British and French spies during WWI. 
In 1947 Charlie, a pregnant college student from the US, is searching for her cousin Rose who disappeared in France during WWII. She hires Eve to help with her search, and their stories intertwine more than expected. 

When I say, the book was too long, I mostly mean the first half. Charlie's story, especially compared to Eve's, feels really underdeveloped in the beginning. I like that we get to know the characters slowly and in a natural way during their travels together, and the payoff is really great in the end. But it was still hard to stay invested in Charlie's parts for at least the first 200-300 pages, because nothing actually happens. 

The rest of the book is just fantastic. The character work is amazing, so many strong female characters. I literally felt the tension during all the spy business scenes. Reading the author's note at the end, which explains which characters, events and details were real, made me realize how great their portrayal was in the book as well. Facts and fiction fit perfectly together. 

I liked how all kinds of aspects of women's lives during the wars/post-war are shown, the relationships between the characters, the focus on their mental state. I also think it was great to have a protagonist with a speech disorder who uses this weakness and turns it into a strength. But there are several scenes that were hard to read. Kate Quinn does not shy away from detailed descriptions of gruesome and bloody scenes. So yeah, definitely check out trigger/content warnings.

Lastly, one of the things that is really hard to pull off is a satisfying showdown/ending. And I think it was done masterfully here. A lot of times the showdowns in books are either too abrupt or too slow for me. This one is perfectly timed. I love the setting, the characters involved, the emotions, the dialogues, the action, the execution and resolution. All the little details come together nicely. 
And after the showdown we get an ending that's neither too short, nor too long. I'm really impressed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail