Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Hare House by Sally Hinchcliffe

11 reviews

tinyoceankingdoms's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

I think this book did the things it did well very well. It had an interesting premise & it was atmospheric. If the main character is meant to repulse the reader intentionally, then that was also something done well, because she is an absolute creep. She made my skin crawl when her inner monologue turned to her thoughts and recollections of interacting with her teenaged students. 

As others have mentioned, it doesn’t conclude well. You progress thinking several characters will develop into an interesting part of the plot, only to never hear about them again.  A lot of wasted opportunity.

Odd book.  Really can’t tell if the dated attitudes to women, mental health & food were intentional to be  reflective of the setting, or if the author didn’t feel the need to be thoughtful about these themes.  I even double checked to see if Sally Hinchcliffe wasn’t a pen name for a man, that’s how off the vibes in this book are. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Animal death, and Mental illness

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Body shaming

piareadss's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Car accident, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Animal death

Moderate: Eating disorder and Gun violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

five_rats_in_a_trenchcoat's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Confinement and Death

Minor: Self harm, Stalking, Death of parent, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pedophilia

carolined's review against another edition

emotional 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

2.0

The author had a good idea and didn't really take it anywhere. Beautifully written but dull and pointless. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Car accident, and Death

Minor: Cursing, Suicide, Eating disorder, Adult/minor relationship, and Classism

livlostinstereo's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

I found this book in my local library and the premise piqued my interest. Hinchcliffe’s writing is beautiful. Honestly, this woman can turn a phrase with the best of them. Her descriptions of the Scottish countryside and her metaphoric style are all lovely. She creates tension like a pro. 
However, the reason I’m giving this a 3 star rating: the resolution of the supernatural/mysterious causes of all the strangeness going on is lacking. The characters aren’t particularly lovable(though I must admit, we all know a Janet), which isn’t an issue, but the resolution doesn’t quite answer any of the questions. I have my theories but I would have loved a more thorough answer to some of the questions presented.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Body horror, Car accident, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm

Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, Grief, Stalking, Physical abuse, and Pedophilia

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, and Gaslighting

the_vvitch's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

This book was ruined by the weird sexualized hatred of teenage girls, especially by a grown woman. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death, Adult/minor relationship, and Animal death

madamelacy's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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: Self harm, Eating disorder, Animal death, Grief, and Mental illness

Moderate: Classism, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

The story isn’t resolved at the end so it’s up to the reader to decide what really happened.

caitsidhe's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Hare House is a well-written and characterised Gothic set in the modern day. Our main character is a repressed, haunted woman escaping from a traumatic event. She moves to Hare House and become embroiled in the emotional difficulties of Grant and Cass, who live in the manor house.

I really liked this book. The prose fits the story well and the unnamed narrator is a great gothic protagonist - she resembles the main character in the Turn of The Screw, being an unreliable narrator with a history, repressed sexual desire, and notably a hatred of the blooming sexuality of young women. 

The tension in Hare House builds slowly through careful use of atmosphere and horrific events. Cass is a fascinating character and very accurate for a traumatised 17 year old - in equal parts charming, annoying, and disturbing, all of those filtered through the faulty interpretation of the narrator.

The ending is creepy, and it doesn't leave everything nicely wrapped up and explained.

Recommended.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Animal death, Car accident, and Mental illness

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Confinement, Bullying, and Misogyny

Minor: Classism, Cursing, Infertility, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Death, and Emotional abuse

hayleygray's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Scottish gothic folklore 🤝 witchcraft

This was an interesting, dark and mysterious story that keeps you guessing at what is happening/has happened with the answers leaving you asking even more questions. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book as I’m Scottish and love Scottish/Gaelic folklore and also it’s witch season, so it was the perfect read for the start of October. Hinchcliffe has a way of bringing the setting to life as you’re reading with such attention to detail but written in a way that keeps you engaged and building that world in your head. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Animal death, and Mental illness

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Child abuse

arabellaruby's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Car accident