Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James

20 reviews

ladykristianna's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide

ashleyelizabeth's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Murder, and Classism

searendt's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

Ok mystery; definitely doesn’t pass the Bechdel Test. 

It’s a decent enough ghost story and there are some haunting elements and descriptions that are engaging. 

But the female protagonist is quite flat. Despite being the main character, all she does is worry about the two male characters. Even when she’s been terrorized by a literal ghost for the first time in her life, her inner turmoil is all “I wonder how Male #1 is handling this? Is Male #2 strong enough to handle this given his shell shock? He is a war hero. What would my male relative think of Male 1? What will both of them think of my reaction?” 

How about - there’s a literal ghost saying murderous things to you - What about your turmoil? Or how about the abused and vengeful ghost’s? 

The story loses major stars for having such a 2-dimensional main character, and unlikeable male main characters. It’s not the gothic historical setting of the novel that holds it back - Jane Eyre as a character is 10x more relatable and real. 

This story could have been so much better. I did finish it because I did want to know the conclusion, which is why it gets 2 stars vs 1. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Violence

Minor: Violence and War

kbio's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual content, and Blood

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Injury/Injury detail

lampbee's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-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? No

3.0

Really like her mysteries they’re not always complex but they’re entertaining. This one was less entertaining , the plot focused a weird amount on explicit sex scenes which didn’t feel like they matched with the tone of the story and went on for a very long time. The mystery itself was interesting but too much time spent on developing two romances so the actual ghost case was sort of bland. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Maybe it was intentional but considering the suicide in the book was caused by rape and sexual violence , I found the gratuitous sex scenes between the two main characters was weird — and the slow pulling of the man from his shell was annoying, not enough time to care about why he covers his war scars etc - her parents deaths was way more interesting than all the sex they kept having while their friend was dying

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

pkane01's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, and War

kelbel_reads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.0

“You can't imagine how hard it is to come home from hell and be expected to pick up the threads of a life. Apply for jobs, go to a factory, punch in, punch out. Put your lunch in a bag and get on the omnibus every day. Like nothing happened. Nothing.” 

➽ This is one of Simone St. James' older titles, but I still enjoyed it a lot! It's set in the 1920s after the first world war and follows Sarah Piper, who's a temporary agent that takes on any odd jobs that come her way. When she gets offered the chance to become the secretary of infamous ghost hunter Alistair Gellis, she's not sure what she's getting herself into. Piper has been leading a solitary life, so against all common sense, she agrees and travels with him to investigate the haunting of a young servant called Maddy Clare. They're joined by Alistair's long time friend and assistant Matthew Ryder, who immediately catches Sarah's eye despite his gruff demeanor. He's been deeply scarred by the way and still fights with his demons. This book was so haunting and emotional! Sarah gets closer to Maddy's ghost, as she hates all men and sees the pain that has been inflicted on her. Tensions are rising as it's likely that whoever hurt her still lives in the small town unseen and might not want their secret to come out! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Sexism, Suicide, and Forced institutionalization

gondorgirl's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism