Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Zarina by Ellen Alpsten

8 reviews

oliviaalbion's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

I read this book in just over a week and was entranced by it. I possibly would have finished it sooner, but occasionally needed mental breaks from the very detailed gruesome and violent scenes. I'm finding it difficult to rate as, although fast-paced, that wasn't always a good thing. The structure of the book seemed to jump around a bit, and although somewhat chronological, it didn't always make sense or seem relevant to the current chapter. It seemed overly long, and there were times I felt like I had read a lot because of how much had happened, but really, I hadn't read many pages. The cross between fiction and historical reality has been cleverly manipulated to show the life of the Tsarina. The highs and lows of her life as a female in Russia during the early 1700s have been well portrayed, and I appreciated that the dark history of this time was not glossed over. I don't doubt the historical accuracy of the research, but I do have an issue with some of the portrayals and doubt the primary sources (political/historical bias?). Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Russia's history and especially seeing the female pov of the Tsarina. I'm glad I ticked this book off my list but would not read it again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Slavery, Violence, Vomit, Antisemitism, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

This is not a bedtime story! Potentially a book to read when you're mentally ready for a lot of the topics that come with Russian history.

mira_st's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse and Miscarriage

helenastinks's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Antisemitism

constantinareads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring 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

4.25

If you have doubts, try it. It really deserves more attention!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Classism

Moderate: Gore, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail

icebrg8's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, Torture, Murder, and War

dorakathryn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Torture, and Blood

Moderate: Child death, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

foxonabook's review against another edition

I DNF'ed this at roughly 30% of the way through, and despite that I still have quite a few thoughts about this book, so here they are. I want to preface this by saying that I rarely write negative reviews because writing a book is hard, however there are instances where staying silent isn't an option. Trigger warning for mention of sexual violence in my review. 

This book was recommended to me because of my love for historical fiction and my fascination with the Romanov dynasty. On paper this looked like the perfect read, I was hoping that it would read along the lines of [b:Wolf Hall|6101138|Wolf Hall (Thomas Cromwell #1)|Hilary Mantel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1627203575l/6101138._SY75_.jpg|6278354] or [b:The Parisian|40718380|The Parisian|Isabella Hammad|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1542154799l/40718380._SY75_.jpg|63334665], where the book is driven by its characters who provide us with insight into the socio-political climate of time. After all, the book takes place at a pivotal point in Russian history where Peter the Great was waging near constant war while also trying to westernise Russia. Alas, this isn't that type of historical fiction...I would actually go as far as to say that this is a poor excuse for a historical fiction novel and is instead a gratuitous erotic novel with a thin coating of historical fiction in it.

The book is filled with unnecessary r*pe and s*x scenes. Yes, the book is set in a time where violence against women is rife, however we are still living in a world where violence against women is rampant so authors should be careful not to treat it as an easy plot device. In the case of Tsarina, it felt to me like Alpsten was using r*pe and other forms of violence as a plot filler, detailing every detail of the attacks. Even where (sexual) violence against women is necessary to the plot (say because the book is about trauma), there are more respectful ways to approach such a sensitive and horrific issue. This may be a work of fiction, but Alpsten's approach was not only gratuitous, it sometimes felt like she was trivialising it too. There really was no reason for five scenes of sexual violence less than 30% of the way through...

This book could have been so much. Catherine I's story is truly remarkable. Born a serf who cannot read or write, she defies all odds to become Peter the Great's second wife and Tsarina of Russia. There is no denying that only a brilliant woman could make such a leap. Unfortunately her greatness isn't reflected in the book. All of the characters lack depth and multifacetedness, including Marta/Cathering which is a reason why we don't ever get a sense of her shrewdness. Additionally, most character make a fly-by appearance which makes it harder to connect to any of them. 

Save your money and your time. Don't read this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Suicide, Vomit, Trafficking, and War

stellamcvey's review against another edition

dark slow-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

1.5

Clumsy writing, odd pacing, unnatural dialogue and weak characterisation are barely held up by the plot - the only thing that kept me reading this frustrating book. But as it’s historical fiction the plot is the only thing that isn’t totally original. I will not be reading anything by this author again, her style aggravates me too much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and War

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Infertility, and Pedophilia

Minor: Abortion and Death of parent