Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Little Eve by Catriona Ward

38 reviews

britt_blank_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Self harm, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Miscarriage

a_novel_craving's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

bookdevour_bettie's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

I actually do not know how to rate this, but it was an expierience and I would love to re-read it one day. Maybe then I will actually be able to give it a proper rating.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Torture, and Murder

Minor: Child death and Pedophilia

crowyhead's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Gore, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

wait_whoissheagain's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

This book left me guessing until the very end! Catriona Ward has a way of leaving you confused (in a good way) and then piecing all those puzzles together at the end in a way that makes you think ‘how did I not see this coming?’

I enjoyed reading this book, although the character’s relationships were constantly back-and-forth, and did leave me somewhat confused as to where the characters stood at different points throughout the story. I suppose these twisty relationships could be put down to the horrible traumas these characters faced while at Altnaharra. These traumas are heart wrenching and very uncomfortable to read, especially as more comes to light throughout the story.

I didn’t find the characters all that likeable (again I think this is due to their trauma) but I was yearning for all of them to be ok and parts of this story were heartbreaking! It was interesting watching Eve struggle with wanting to embrace her curious side and break free from the life she has been told to live, while also wanting the power and life of the Adder so much that she would do anything. It was also interesting to hear how Dinah adjusted to life after the traumatic events, and how she was learning to deal with her past. I was rooting for these characters, despite the fact that I didn’t particularly resonate with them.

There are only 11 chapters in this 265 page book, which was a little frustrating, as I like to take breaks at different chapters, and that was hard to do with chapters that were 30-60 pages long! Despite this, I do like how the story was set out, moving back and forth between the perspectives of Eve and Dinah at their respective times. And, there was easy enough spots to stop and have a rest with breaks between paragraphs, it’s just a personal habit that I like to stop at chapters!

Please make yourself aware of the possible trigger warnings before reading this book, but if you are a fan of twisty murders, stories about religious cults or gothic tales, I would recommend giving this book a read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Suicide

erinbarr13's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

lizreaderhold's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

booktribe's review against another edition

The first chapter of this book had me hooked! The writing intrigued me and I had to know what happened! But sadly, I had to DNF this book at 51%, I couldn’t continue. The story was so incredibly slow. Sometimes I was interested despite the slow nature of the novel and at other times I just didn’t care what was happening in the slightest. I knew going into the book that this will probably be a slow burn horror, but the story could’ve been condensed A LOT! There are a lot of unnecessary scenes and the writing is so descriptive that it’s boring. I don’t need to know every little detail of every little thing. The book is only 200+ pages, but I feel like I’ve read 400 pages of nothing. The first chapter interested me so much that I still want to know what happened, but not enough to get through another half of this glacially paced book…

Thank you Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own.

TW (up to 51% in): child death, death of a parent, snakes, animal death, self harm, pedophilia 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Pedophilia, and Self harm

charlottesreadingweb's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Having read both Needless Street and Sundial, I would say this is the best Catriona Ward book I have read. What it lacks in plot complexity, it makes up for in reflection on what it means to "be the villain" and how the pain of women & children is often unrecognized or ignored. I found myself heart broken repeatedly throughout this book. I found the ending poignant and beautiful. Fans of Needless Street may find this book underwhelming when comparing it's twists and turns, but I think it is a good option for gothic horror fans looking for a book that will pull at your heart strings. Please check content warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Incest, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Self harm, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: Rape, Pregnancy, and War

readsandsuch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Self harm, Torture, Religious bigotry, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Toxic friendship