Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

94 reviews

brookebatesratesbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, and Death of parent

lynssss's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

Dialogue was best part of the story, flawed main character, but felt maybe her growth wasn't gotten realistically. But felt sympathy for the characters and they felt like real people even if the plot didn't. I would cautiously recommend it, but certainly not to everyone...

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Blood

Moderate: Mental illness, Rape, Suicide, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism and Grief

randeerebecca's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness and Pregnancy

Minor: Child abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, Dementia, and Murder

pikkumarja's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.5

Luontokato on aiheena todella kiinnostava kaunokirjallisuudessa. Rakastin Viimeistä muuttolintua eikä tämä kirja peloistani huolimatta pettänyt. Itselläni ei koskaan ole ollut varsinaista "susivaihdetta", mutta kirjan kuvaukset villiinnyttämisestä, metsästä ja susista olivat upeita.

Henkilöhahmot olivat samaan aikaan rasittavia ja rakastettavia. Välillä jotkut tuntuivat vähän turhan liioitelluilta tai muutoin epäuskottavilta, mutta sitten muistin, että kirjassa on epäluotettava kertoja. Kirja oli oikeasti kiintoisa ja ihan erilainen kuin monet lukemani kirjat.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism and Abortion

dragonswoodfairy87's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

caylacolclasure's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse and Stalking

ladynocturnal's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

I love this author. Her stories are so touching and connects to what it means to be human so intimately. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Grief

clivestaples's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Blood, and Grief

northernfleabag's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

tamtamslibrary's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.0

A story about wildness—about all the definitions of it from humans to animals to nature. The author does a fantastic job of creating a setting, from sentence structure to character building to sensory details. It is emotional—you’ll feel sad, enraged, confused, and sad again, but there is a rightness set by the end. 

****Check the trigger warnings before reading****

I’ll put my favorite quote, that gave me chills reading, below. I think it really encompasses the entirety of the novel’s message.

Favorite quote:
“Do you think it can ever be?” he asks me softly. “Bred out of a creature?”
“The wild?” . . . “It happened to us, I think,” I murmur. “Most days I think we couldn’t be farther from it, that it was slowly bred from us until we became more like machines than animals.”
“And the other days?” he asks.
“On the other days,” I say slowly, “I think I will go mad with the wildness.” (Page 131)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

Moderate: Mental illness and Grief

Chapter 26 is the graphic scene (assault). It can be skipped, in my opinion, and it won’t rob the novel from its purpose or intent.