Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

29 reviews

lizzym126's review

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Murder, Violence, Cannibalism, Physical abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Death, Sexual content, Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

autumngk's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

2.75

I honestly don’t know what I was expecting from this book-cannibalism, sure, but the nonlinear format took me by surprise. Something about it felt too reliant on shock value and grotesque tropes, but after all it is a cannibal serial killer. I don’t know if I’m just beginning to be turned off by horror novels, but this one did the trick. There were really great sections, and I mean chapters at a time where the writing was absolutely beautiful and engaging. I wish we got to know more about Dorothy’s life as the prison librarian and how that began to effect her; I can’t tell if my reservations with this book are that if felt too short and heavy/reliant on the gore to tell its story or what! We get this really nice look into her life…..

after she’s adjusted to prison life during their group when the arsonist is telling her story and some of the other women are talking and Dorothy reveals a possible change in her feelings about what she’s done/herself. It’s not worthy of a sequel, just a couple more chapters here and there. While what we’re left with is a complete picture, it felt like there were just some missed opportunities. So many offers were put up in the air by introducing her in the present as working in the library; especially given her relationship with Emma, it felt unfinished in a way. We know so much about her while she’s cannibalizing and murdering these men senselessly, but it feels pointless to still know her while she’s imprisoned and know so little about her in the present. She still has the same voice. She still speaks the same about humanity. What about her changed? if nothing did, why this story? Why now? Just to sell cannibal torture porn?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Car accident, Death, Blood, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cannibalism, Classism, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Stalking, Torture, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Forced institutionalization

princesspunkass's review

dark funny mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Confinement, Murder, and Rape

lqne's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Confinement, Death of parent, Murder, Terminal illness, Violence, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Death, Infidelity, Rape, Cancer, Cannibalism, Car accident, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Sexism

dylweed's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Death, Confinement, Cannibalism, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Animal death, Car accident, and Body horror

kibiiiariii's review

dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death, Mental illness, Police brutality, Gore, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Acephobia/Arophobia, Body horror, Blood, Confinement, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Excrement, Cannibalism, and Infidelity

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

dark

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Gore, Ableism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Animal death, Confinement, Murder, Sexual content, Blood, Cannibalism, and Cancer

Moderate: Excrement, Mental illness, Drug use, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Vomit

Minor: Chronic illness

lilacwhisker's review

dark funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

Pretty enjoyable! Really picks up near the end as well. I enjoyed how relatable Dorothy was (which I think in part is why this book is so popular) and, despite the murders, really enjoyed hearing her talk about her life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Death of parent, Cannibalism, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Stalking

Moderate: Cancer and Confinement

Minor: Animal death

feliz_in_a_bucket's review

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

A killer book. The glourious writing is all it needs.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Car accident, Confinement, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Animal death, Death, Gore, Murder, and Blood

Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, and Mental illness

pennepasta's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I really enjoyed both the deeper meaning of this book and the horrifying plot. As someone who actually enjoys pretentious books with rich vocabulary and dense character reflections, this book was incredibly enjoyable. It is quite graphic, particularly in the middle and is definitely not for those who dislike gore, but I think that adding the mix of intense gore, explicit sex scenes and Dorothy's normal life, we get a better sense of her as a person, because those extremes really didn't phase her, because she's a literal psychopath lol. I enjoyed the thrill and writing of the book a lot and would recommend it to those who can handle it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Confinement, Death, Gore, Murder, Violence, and Sexual content