Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young

16 reviews

doahdancer's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.75

What I can say for certain is that I loved the writer's voice and how the story sucked me in and pulled me along. 

What I didn't enjoy was the spell constantly being broken by the unblievability of most characters' decisions. I'm not an avid reader of mysteries by any means, so some of this might be genre-typical and I'm not in-the-know, but the way everybody kept secret even the most benign thoughts and feelings after this huge tragedy did not resonate with me. When huge disaster strikes, I've always known people to discuss it at length with loved ones. They analyze it to death wondering if things could have been different. Not to be too IRL, but 9/11 is a great example for the Americans in the room. We still obsessively discuss even the smallest details of that day, where we were, how we felt.

So yeah, the secrecy plot device didn't work for me.

I also was really disappointed by the ending. There's a huge climax, everyone is involved, all the secrets come out... but last chapter? All you get is

the main couple and their kids

. No go backs on any of the side characters. Just a mention of some of them being in touch, but nothing about their outcomes.

Gah!! The experience of reading this book was so good so I'm still rating it pretty well, but the ending left me bitter.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

kbairbooks's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

Enchanting. This was the coolest magical, murder mystery I've ever read! It was so atmospheric and lyrical and magical and WOW. Kinda spooky without being scary. Betrayal. Lust. Grief. Longing. Regret. This book is chock full of raw human messiness. A pretty incredible read for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer

spellbindingtomes's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

oneillkd's review

dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

irelandmb7's review

adventurous challenging 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Abandonment

Minor: Death

milenanoelm's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

1.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Minor: Cancer, Gun violence, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

kbowles24's review

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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Sexual content, Violence, and Pregnancy

a_novel_craving's review against another edition

emotional 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? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

imds's review

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

mary_stormageddon's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

This is an incredibly beautiful story. I fell in love with the island, the magic, and the mystery that surrounded everything. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Domestic abuse and Abandonment