Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Familiars

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Familiars by Stacey Halls

20 reviews

wallflovver's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

there's something about this book that had me absolutely hooked, i was spending my days looking forward to unravelling more of this story as soon as i had the chance.

im a sucker for female friendship stories, especially ones where the two seemingly have nobody else and grow together, making their days less lonely and filled with light.

i especially loved the imagery of foxes following Fleetwood, to represent her bond with Alice even when they are apart.

i generally disliked the male characters, and felt great sympathy for the women in this story. as is true for women at the time, the society they lived in cost them their lives.

the mix of fiction and historical fact in this book was really interesting, i enjoyed the way it was presented.

the writing style was really nice and easy to consume, i got thru this book really quickly and had no issues with understanding the story and its plot points

overall i was completely gripped by this story and was pleased with the ending

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labbradorite's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.75

I love the writing style of this book, it felt like i was reading a classic but much much easier to understand

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nataliaf4's review

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

5 stars! This book gripped me from cover to cover. I adored the characters and gothic setting and the main friendship in this is one of my favorite literary female/female friendships to date!

TW: descriptions of miscarriage and stillbirth, animal death, gaslighting, blood, and mentions of sexual abuse of a minor.

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bybookandbone's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.5

I don't think I have the words to describe everything I loved about The Familiars. Fleetwood is an incredibly sympathetic character. Just as I was getting irritated with her inaction, we discover that she is only 17, been married for four years and is pregnant with four miscarriages behind her. That's just so much for a young person to take. Plus the childhood neglect and abuse... absolutely horrific.

Throughout the book, Fleetwood has to deal with being seen as nothing more as an interactive uterus in an expensive dress.
I don't want to say much more than that without spoiling the story, though I wish it had ended with the violent murder of her husband, Richard, and his friend Rodger.

Alice is one of the women accused of witchcraft and Fleetwood's only friend, as well as the only midwife who has actually helped her with her difficult pregnancy.
Don't be fooled into thinking this book is about the Pendle trials, it's set around them but at the end of the day, it's Fleetwood and Alice's story.

I still wish they ran off together

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samijean's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

3.0

This book was definitely a good-not-great kind of thing for me. I was definitely invested and I read the whole thing, but something about it was just kind of flat. I was expecting more outright witchiness; it was much more subtle than I thought it would be. I can't say I was super attached to any of the characters, but I did definitely feel for them. Wouldn't read it again, but I don't regret getting it.

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j_teachthetorches's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

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btrz7's review against another edition

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slow-paced

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

2.0

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theoracle_ofdelfi's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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zoenne's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A gripping story with an endearing protagonist. Nonetheless, I feel that the author tried too hard to stay close to historical accounts of the Pendle Witch trials, and as a result some events seem a bit forced.

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flopsiful's review against another edition

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5.0

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