aim_upp's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
“You have my name and my family, my clan, and if necessary, the protection of my body as well.” -My husband
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
laurenleigh's review against another edition
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
3.0
What a bizarre reading experience. This was a TERRIBLE book with a FANTASTIC narrator. I’ve heard the book and the show described as “rapey,” and that is spot on. How the hell are there like 9 more books and 8 seasons of this?? I can’t believe I actually made it through 33 hours. Davina Porter was just so magical with all the different voices and accents. I enjoyed listening to her so much! I guess I gave up trying to make excuses for the plot and had to laugh at it instead. Except I’m not laughing at all at a husband beating his wife. That scene and the aftermath were so twisted. So much about the plot and Claire’s character make absolutely zero sense to me. Pretty much only giving stars for the narration.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Blood, Gore, Gaslighting, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Ableism
mkmcelroy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
slow-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? It's complicated
This book was just genuinely so bad.
- It was obscenely long considering how thin the plot was. And it was poorly structured with heavy handed “foreshadowing” that left you certain where different threads would lead, only to take hundreds of pages to get there
- There was so many sex scenes that did nothing to serve the plot. Those moments and the repetitive descriptions of setting probably composed a good 600 pages of the book
- Various forms of abuse are frequently justified and often treated in a flippant manner that’s just cold and disrespectful
- The amount of rape and sexual abuse is excessive and described in unnecessarily explicit detail. It felt like an attempt to sensationalize the topic rather than provide any meaningful commentary. Instead it was repeatedly used as a cheap plot device to raise stakes.
- The book also played heavily into the evil gay trope, seeming to take more offense to gay sex than rape.
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, and Rape
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