Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Romanova by Ariel Lawhon

3 reviews

librarianeno's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

4.75

I loved this book. It's not something that I knew very much about. However, I really struggled listening to this book because it's a non-linear narrative, and the time hops sometimes got confusing. It would have been nice to be able to go back and reference where we had been. And while it's not really a spoiler on how this ends, I do have to admit that the ending was still surprising to me.  Please make sure to check the content warnings.

Most of the worst of it happens in the last few chapters. That's the main reason why this book can't have 5 stars. It's very graphic (in my opinion).

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

most of the really graphic stuff happens in the second half of the book as it gets closer to the part where they get taken to be killed. Honestly, the rest of the book wasn't that bad, but the last few chapters were super graphic

forthe_girlwhowaited's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Death of parent

rachelwierick's review against another edition

emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I don’t usually like historical fiction but I love the legend of Anastasia, so I decided to give this book a try. I loved it. I ended up listening to the second half on audiobook because I wanted to keep listening while I couldn’t sleep, drove to work, etc. and finished in less than a day. This book is really well written and has a unique structure that keeps the reader engaged. One of the most tragic scenes is written about so beautifully, it’s not graphic but you know exactly what happens. Major kudos to Ariel Lawhon for that. I really enjoyed I Was Anastasia. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail