Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Binding by Bridget Collins

76 reviews

stellabombella's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Murder

miastr's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, and Suicide

Moderate: Rape and Alcohol

fe_aye's review against another edition

dark informative reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

This book had an interesting premise and did do something interesting. However I found the writing style to be very dull. I managed to finish the book so at least it’s enough to keep you reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, Dementia, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

junieeee's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Death and Slavery

Minor: Animal death

oogtube's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

Had a great first part, the buildup in the beginning location was everyone I wanted about a magic bookbinding apprentice- then It kinda moved onto the romance and it all went downhill. It focused FAR too much on the romance and near nothing on the concepts carefully built in the beginning and even kinda- abandoned the beginning tone in a heartless and sudden way that left you not feeling the emotional weight it really should have given. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Vomit, Kidnapping, Abortion, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

dananana's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, and Outing

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

kcup_espresso's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I really enjoyed this book! I had a hard time putting it down, even though it wasn't really what I thought it was going to be initially. While I went in expecting to read more about the magic and lore of how bookbinding worked in this story's world, I was pleasantly surprised by the love story it presented. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide

Moderate: Homophobia and Vomit

Minor: Incest

marleywrites's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

This book took awhile to grow on me, but by the end of part one I was very invested. Seeing all the pieces fall together was extremely satisfying. I loved the angst and the intense emotions. This is one I would consider rereading, especially in the fall/winter. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Cursing

kaiiyo's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-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

4.25

A joy to read that left me quietly weeping in the bath
Wonderful characters and beautifully evocative writing 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Misogyny, and Murder

Minor: Classism

prettycloud's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book has a lot going on. It's got the good historical fiction atmospherics—scenic rural landscape, old bookbinder's workshop—but it's grounded in real human interactions, with flawed characters making difficult choices. It deals with some really heavy topics—trauma, homophobia, assault, to name a few—but it's not relentlessly gloomy. It's a weird hybrid of coming of age, mystery, and romance. The first part feels like a quest for truth, like how Chasing Vermeer felt when I was a kid. There's a sense of wonder even among the awful things people do to one another, and there is beauty and hope. The latter part becomes darker and romancier: if you've read or watched Fingersmith or The Handmaiden, there's some of that energy, though without the masterminding. Would recommend if you like that sort of thing, or time loop or memory loss stories. I think part of the polarization of reviews is because this is such a teenage story even if it has more adult themes. Another reviewer here described it as a Drarry fic with the serial numbers filed off—I don't know whether that's true, but describes the vibe very well and could be useful in deciding whether to check it out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism

There are some really awful and messed-up characters in this book who have a lot of power in their classist, sexist society. The main protags make mistakes and are really angry and traumatized through a lot of this, but aren't doing any of the really awful stuff. They experience homophobia, emotional abuse/gaslighting, and physical abuse

from their families

.

A beloved authority figure

dies. We watch

a beloved animal

get killed during the kidnapping. But the overall tone is hopeful.