Reviews tagging 'Death'

Hijas de Esparta by Claire Heywood

35 reviews

penny_m's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and War

lesemaus2303's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

annemoon's review against another edition

emotional relaxing fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

this wasn’t my favorite retelling, but i think it’s a very good intro to this story and retellings in general! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Blood, Grief, and Alcohol

larade's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

3.5

In her novel, Heywood builds on the well-known myths surrounding Helen and Klytemnestra by adding historically authentic details and giving the two women room to reclaim their respective narratives. 

For a while, I was sure this would be a five star read! I loved hearing about the sisters' different approaches to the fates they were handed and thoroughly enjoyed the way the narrative was built up. The pacing was great up until the beginning of the Trojan War when it, unfortunately, changed drastically. 

I understand why the author did not want to linger too much on this timespan, given how many other novels are already covering it extensively. Nonetheless, the frequent time jumps made the story suddenly feel unnecessarily rushed and made me lose grasp on the characters. Helen, who had been so promising before, suddenly became incredibly shallow - to a point where I felt as though I was reading about an entirely different person. While I still enjoyed Klytemnestra's chapters, the way her storyline was cut off did not work for me at all and made me wonder whether there would be a sequel. (There isn't. You'll have to go back to the Greek tragedies for that.) 

All in all, this book had a lot of potential. The writing is great! About two thirds of the story are incredibly reflective and emotional! I just wish it hadn't steered off track as much as it did towards the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, and Suicide

cpratreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-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? No

4.0

I really enjoyed this! I thought that Heywood wrote the sisters with such love and compassion that it helped me connect and feel for them. A sad story, but history always seems to be for women. 

4 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, and Sexual violence

Minor: Suicide

shan_lou's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

gabydoesgrowth's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Classism

hayleemarie's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and War

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

stobo1kenobo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Fuck, Agamemnon. Purr, Klytemnestra. I support women’s rights. But more importantly, I support women's wrongs. 

I enjoyed this book a lot! It switches back and forth between the third person perspective of Helen and Klytemnestra in a way that wasn’t confusing and allows you to get a sense of what both sisters are going through as they navigate growing up into wifehood and motherhood. Really enjoyed!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Murder, and War