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victoria_catherine_shaw's reviews
556 reviews
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement and Forced institutionalization
See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Dancing with the Octopus: The Telling of a True Crime by Debora Harding
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Dancing with the Octopus by Debora Harding is a poignant memoir that recounts the author's abduction and assault at aged 14, the abuse she suffered at the hands of her parents, and the ways in which these experiences shaped her adult life.
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Structured across multiple timelines, Harding explores how her various traumas intersected over the course of her life. She vividly details how unresolved trauma manifested in her life physically, and the coping mechanisms she utilised over the years.
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I went into this book unsure of what to expect, but I found Harding's account to be both frank and deeply moving. Unlike a lot of similarly themed fiction, Harding's real-life experience has no tidy resolution or easy takeaways, just resilience and a willingness to persevere. Harding's reflections on her relationships with her parents in the aftermath of the kidnapping were impressively reflective. I was, however, less convinced by the chapters that were written from her kidnapper's perspective, as they felt speculative and somewhat separate to the core narrative.
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Overall, Dancing with the Octopus is a reflective and thought-provoking memoir. While it deals with heavy subject matter, it is nonetheless an eye-opening and worthwhile read for anyone seeking insight into life after trauma.
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Structured across multiple timelines, Harding explores how her various traumas intersected over the course of her life. She vividly details how unresolved trauma manifested in her life physically, and the coping mechanisms she utilised over the years.
📚
I went into this book unsure of what to expect, but I found Harding's account to be both frank and deeply moving. Unlike a lot of similarly themed fiction, Harding's real-life experience has no tidy resolution or easy takeaways, just resilience and a willingness to persevere. Harding's reflections on her relationships with her parents in the aftermath of the kidnapping were impressively reflective. I was, however, less convinced by the chapters that were written from her kidnapper's perspective, as they felt speculative and somewhat separate to the core narrative.
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Overall, Dancing with the Octopus is a reflective and thought-provoking memoir. While it deals with heavy subject matter, it is nonetheless an eye-opening and worthwhile read for anyone seeking insight into life after trauma.
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Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Night Waking by Sarah Moss
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
"Would I do it again, understanding as I do now and didn't then, that failure at motherhood is for life and beyond, that everything that happens to my children and my children's children is my fault?...Love is not enough, when it comes to children."
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Let me start with a disclaimer: my review might be a little biased because (a) I’ve loved every Sarah Moss book I’ve read; and (b) this one features some of my favorite things - non-conforming women, Scottish islands, hopelessness, and death. I had a strong feeling I'd enjoy Night Waking, and it didn’t disappoint.
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The story centers on Anna, an academic trying to write a book while navigating the chaos of parenting two young children on a remote Scottish island where her frckless husband spends his days counting puffins. While gardening, Anna discovers the body of an infant, which draws her into the island’s history and the lives of the women who lived there before her.
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Moss has an extraordinary gift for characterisation, particularly so in the case of dark and complex female protagonists. In Night Waking, this creates an unflinching but uncanny portrait of motherhood. Moss doesn’t sugarcoat what is often described (presumably by men) as the most joyful time in a woman’s life. Instead, she depicts an exhausting, infuriating, and thankless, but often funny, reality. As someone who started a university course with a four-week-old baby and a husband who believed he was the only member of the household doing anything useful, I found Anna’s interactions with her husband too familiar, so much so that I actually had to set the book down a few times to let the murdery feelings subside.
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Night Waking is bleak, thought-provoking, and brimming with uncomfortable truths. Maybe that's not your cup of tea, but if you enjoy dark, complex characters and don’t shy away from a bit of gallows humor, I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
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Let me start with a disclaimer: my review might be a little biased because (a) I’ve loved every Sarah Moss book I’ve read; and (b) this one features some of my favorite things - non-conforming women, Scottish islands, hopelessness, and death. I had a strong feeling I'd enjoy Night Waking, and it didn’t disappoint.
📚
The story centers on Anna, an academic trying to write a book while navigating the chaos of parenting two young children on a remote Scottish island where her frckless husband spends his days counting puffins. While gardening, Anna discovers the body of an infant, which draws her into the island’s history and the lives of the women who lived there before her.
📚
Moss has an extraordinary gift for characterisation, particularly so in the case of dark and complex female protagonists. In Night Waking, this creates an unflinching but uncanny portrait of motherhood. Moss doesn’t sugarcoat what is often described (presumably by men) as the most joyful time in a woman’s life. Instead, she depicts an exhausting, infuriating, and thankless, but often funny, reality. As someone who started a university course with a four-week-old baby and a husband who believed he was the only member of the household doing anything useful, I found Anna’s interactions with her husband too familiar, so much so that I actually had to set the book down a few times to let the murdery feelings subside.
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Night Waking is bleak, thought-provoking, and brimming with uncomfortable truths. Maybe that's not your cup of tea, but if you enjoy dark, complex characters and don’t shy away from a bit of gallows humor, I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
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Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Abortion, Alcohol, and Colonisation
China Room by Sunjeev Sahota
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
When teenager Lucinda Hayes is murdered in a small Colorado town, Detective Russ Fletcher is assigned to investigate the case. In Girl in Snow, Danya Kukafka slowly unravels the mystery through the perspectives of Russ and two of Lucinda’s schoolmates: Cameron Whitley and Jade Dixon-Burns.
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Girl in Snow is the kind of thriller I love, which is to say that it's not so much a traditional thriller as a character study, where character development takes precedence over plot. It is dark, introspective, and often beautifully written.
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While I enjoyed much of the book, and thought that Cameron’s perspective was particularly well-written, I found Lucinda’s portrayal somewhat two-dimensional. Additionally, despite Jade’s narrative being central to the story, she had no real role in the plot, which struck me as odd.
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This is the second book I’ve read by Kukafka, the first being the brilliant Notes on an Execution. It’s worth noting that Girl in Snow is Kukafka's debut novel, and while it’s an impressive debut, the leap in storytelling skill between the two books is significant. As such, while Girl in Snow is a solid and enjoyable murder mystery, I’d recommend starting with Notes on an Execution if you’re new to Kukafka’s work.
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Girl in Snow is the kind of thriller I love, which is to say that it's not so much a traditional thriller as a character study, where character development takes precedence over plot. It is dark, introspective, and often beautifully written.
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While I enjoyed much of the book, and thought that Cameron’s perspective was particularly well-written, I found Lucinda’s portrayal somewhat two-dimensional. Additionally, despite Jade’s narrative being central to the story, she had no real role in the plot, which struck me as odd.
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This is the second book I’ve read by Kukafka, the first being the brilliant Notes on an Execution. It’s worth noting that Girl in Snow is Kukafka's debut novel, and while it’s an impressive debut, the leap in storytelling skill between the two books is significant. As such, while Girl in Snow is a solid and enjoyable murder mystery, I’d recommend starting with Notes on an Execution if you’re new to Kukafka’s work.
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Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Stalking, and Murder
Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Go Tell the Bees that I Am Gone is the ninth and penultimate book in Diana Gabaldon's hugely successful Outlander series. As a longtime fan of the TV adaptation, I have often found the books unwieldy, with their sprawling plotlines and excessive detail, and this installment is no exception.
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Before picking it up, I was aware of mixed reviews from longtime readers, many of whom seemed to have found it slow and inconsistent. Having now read it, I can see why. My usual criticisms of the series apply here, but perhaps even more so, since Go Tell the Bees moves the story forward only incrementally.
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That said, the latter part of the book had me on the edge of my seat. I had a horrible moment of thinking I had figured out where the story was headed, and I may have even shed a tear or two. Say what you will about Gabaldon’s pacing and prose, but it takes undoubtable skill to create characters that readers care about so deeply.
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For all my complaints about the length and meandering nature of these books, Go Tell the Bees made me realise that I'm not ready for the series to end, and want to continue living with the characters a little longer. So I am looking forward to the (as of yet unpublished) 10th instalment and wondering whether, given the number of unresolved storylines, Gabaldon will be able to wrap everything up in just one more book. Who knows? Maybe I will get to stay in the Outlander world a while longer after all.
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Before picking it up, I was aware of mixed reviews from longtime readers, many of whom seemed to have found it slow and inconsistent. Having now read it, I can see why. My usual criticisms of the series apply here, but perhaps even more so, since Go Tell the Bees moves the story forward only incrementally.
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That said, the latter part of the book had me on the edge of my seat. I had a horrible moment of thinking I had figured out where the story was headed, and I may have even shed a tear or two. Say what you will about Gabaldon’s pacing and prose, but it takes undoubtable skill to create characters that readers care about so deeply.
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For all my complaints about the length and meandering nature of these books, Go Tell the Bees made me realise that I'm not ready for the series to end, and want to continue living with the characters a little longer. So I am looking forward to the (as of yet unpublished) 10th instalment and wondering whether, given the number of unresolved storylines, Gabaldon will be able to wrap everything up in just one more book. Who knows? Maybe I will get to stay in the Outlander world a while longer after all.
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The Smallest Man: the most uplifting book of the year by Frances Quinn
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming and Bullying
Phantom Limb by Chris Kohler
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Chris Kohler’s Phantom Limb tells two parallel stories set in a divided Scotland, centuries apart. The main plot follows Gillis, an agnostic minister in modern Scotland, whose life unravels after discovering a seemingly sentient but disembodied hand on the grounds of his manse. The subplot follows Jan, an apprentice painter, in 16th-century Scotland, on an ill-fated journey to deliver a specially commissioned book to a Scottish laird.
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This debut novel is layered and thought-provoking. I was immediately intrigued by the macabre premise of the phantom hand creating unsettling illustrations, and I was impressed by the nuanced characterisation of Gillis and his ex-girlfriend, Rachel. Both are deeply flawed, complex, and often unlikeable, yet ultimately sympathetic.
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Jan’s story, while immersive, felt underdeveloped compared to Gillis’s, and the novel could definetly have benefited from expanding Jan’s narrative and trimming some of Gillis’s.
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Phantom Limb balances absurdism and humor with sharp commentary on religion, power, and Scotland’s identity. Kohler draws cynical parallels between the Reformation, the Referendum, and the shift from religion to capitalism. While the novel doesn’t seem to reach a firm conclusion (or, if it did, I wasn't smart enough to understand it), its exploration of power, corruption, and human nature is uniquely compelling.
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That said, the novel’s sense of place felt oddly flat. For a story so rooted in Scottish identity, the setting lacked a distinctively Scottish character, leaving it feeling as though it could have taken place anywhere.
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This isn't a perfect book by any stretch of the imagination, but there is something intelligent and darkly quirky about it that make it a stand out read.
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This debut novel is layered and thought-provoking. I was immediately intrigued by the macabre premise of the phantom hand creating unsettling illustrations, and I was impressed by the nuanced characterisation of Gillis and his ex-girlfriend, Rachel. Both are deeply flawed, complex, and often unlikeable, yet ultimately sympathetic.
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Jan’s story, while immersive, felt underdeveloped compared to Gillis’s, and the novel could definetly have benefited from expanding Jan’s narrative and trimming some of Gillis’s.
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Phantom Limb balances absurdism and humor with sharp commentary on religion, power, and Scotland’s identity. Kohler draws cynical parallels between the Reformation, the Referendum, and the shift from religion to capitalism. While the novel doesn’t seem to reach a firm conclusion (or, if it did, I wasn't smart enough to understand it), its exploration of power, corruption, and human nature is uniquely compelling.
📚
That said, the novel’s sense of place felt oddly flat. For a story so rooted in Scottish identity, the setting lacked a distinctively Scottish character, leaving it feeling as though it could have taken place anywhere.
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This isn't a perfect book by any stretch of the imagination, but there is something intelligent and darkly quirky about it that make it a stand out read.
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Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0