Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

81 reviews

emdowd's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Racism, Sexism, and Forced institutionalization

abi_sarah's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

A candidly human story of love, lust and loss. 

When the men of Vardø disappear in the midst of a storm on Christmas Eve, answers are at the top the agenda of the men of the surrounding Norwegian villages. Whilst they search for the truth, they squirm and writhe in the uncomfortable new reality of Vardø. Only women live there. 

The discomfort of the men is apparent and their seeking of the truth in order to bring reason to what has happened is portrayed by Hargrave in such a powerful way. The lengths the men go to in order to find out the truth is extreme and violent. Soon foul accusations against the women are made and are swiftly followed with threats of harm and even death. 

An extraordinary read. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Norway in a historical fiction. 

“This was a story of people and how they lived, before how they died defined them”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Sexual content and Violence

creativepoet's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Torture, and Violence

christina09's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

emma_garner's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Miscarriage

ibadella's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

this story certainly expanded my awareness of Norwegian history and the impact of witch hunting there. I ranked it highly because the prose and pacing were quite nice, but I didn’t feel like the narrative brought out the full potential of these historical events. I’m bothered by how much the Sámi characters felt like background to contextualize the drama of the Norwegian characters. Despite the slow buildup the story seemed to conclude suddenly and predictably 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, and Violence

Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism

Minor: Miscarriage

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.0

Beautiful story, lyrical writing, and a compelling connection to history. I am always thankful to see representation in all genres.

The pacing did feel abrupt or insta-love-esque at times, but that is just due to my personal reading preferences

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Abandonment

chirpchirp's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Murder

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Violence

Physical burns and burning.

hannahri0's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

jordanbolker's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

This book definitely got better throughout. But I admitted that the language that the book is written is a little difficult to comprehend. But loved all the longing and slow burn that occurs between Maren and Ursa and felt happy when they had that one night together. It was a good story and historice fiction novel and I appreciated the historical note at the end to summarize everything.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Miscarriage, Colonisation, and Classism