Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Hittebarnet

Great story! Emotional and heart warming. Shows the lengths a mother will go to for her child.
I enjoyed seeing Alexandra’s character develop & seeing how Bess’s life unfolded.
Enjoyed immensely.

Content Warnings

wallflovver's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

4.75

i read the familiars by stacey halls last year, picked up purely because of the cover and i loved it. but i genuinely think i enjoyed the foundling more so!

both books have the common theme of motherhood with complex female characters at the forefront

i was completely gripped by this book, stacey manages to write in a way that is easy to consume and so tense. every time i had to put it down, i couldnt wait to pick up where i left off

i really enjoyed the way the story panned out, there was a point towards the end where i couldn't see a happy ending for all involved - of course, i was wrong

the two perspectives really worked, and it helped to fully flesh out both alexandra's and bess' characters/back story

the male characters in the familiars were all so hateable, but i liked the male characters in this book (with one main exception). doctor mead and lyle were just chef's kiss in my opinion!

thoroughly enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend!

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bookishpip's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This was a quick but absolutely gorgeous read.

It’s set in London in 1754, and follows Bess Bright - a woman who, due to her poverty, had given her child to the local children’s hospital/orphanage six years prior. Having saved money to reclaim her child, she arrives to find that her child had already been claimed - by someone claiming to be Bess.

I loved the pace and tone of this book. I really enjoyed that the reader got to experience the perspectives of both Bess and Alexandra. I also love the time and attention went into crafting some of the secondary characters, so that I was invested in all of the characters involved. It covered some dark subject matter such as alcohol abuse and PTSD symptoms resulting from past trauma - but despite some of the darker themes this was still overall an enjoyable read. Halls writes in a way so alluring that it was never a chore and I struggled to put the book down.

Highly recommended!

Content Warnings