Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

34 reviews

spherocytosis's review

dark funny medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Cannibalism, Murder, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Car accident, Death of parent, and Cancer

Minor: Toxic friendship

nkoss's review

challenging dark fast-paced

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

3.75

I’m sorry but I tried to like it but the author seemed overly concerned with using every pretentious large word in her vocabulary (like, I get it! His head was “brobdingnagian”! Did you really have to use that word more than once?) — Dorothy, I assume on purpose, was unlikeable in every aspect and I can’t help but think that the author was exorcising some of her own frustrations out h the through Dorothy’s annoyance in the evolution of the workplace and how long form content is essentially dead. Felt like everything was written for shock factor when it just became quite boring towards the end. The last few chapters felt rushed that I thought a chapter was missing. It was a quick read so I finished it, but it wasn’t a favorite. Don’t feel like I need to read it ever again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Torture, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Stalking, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Gore, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, and Sexual violence

stumacherirl's review

dark informative mysterious medium-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

2.5

So pretentious. Loved certain parts and wanted to see more about them but they weren't focused on. The character is SUPPOSED to be pretentious but the writing isn't. Had several moments where I rolled my eyes, not because of the character monologuing, but because of what the author was trying to say. Satire isn't satire when it starts to genuinely emulate what it is trying to laugh at. Nonetheless, she is a girlboss, so she gets an extra two stars. I would let her kill and eat me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Mental illness, Cannibalism, and Toxic relationship

emmagrace012's review

dark funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Honestly loved it. So enjoyable to read, if a bit grandiloquent. Really enjoyed the immersive character experience and the overall plot lines. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Cannibalism, Violence, and Animal death

Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, Gore, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Car accident, and Blood

Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, Antisemitism, and Terminal illness

xtritagonist's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Stalking, Violence, Death, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Gore, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Grief, and Murder

abundance_of_fiction's review

challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.0

Almost a 4 stars but more like 3.5. This book was short but the pacing still felt slow due to the monologue and narration. As a serial killer/thriller fan it was entertaining to see the author weave in many of these infamous women into her story and how they related to Dorothy. Reading about this psychopathic cannibal was both grotesque but intriguing as far as a narrative goes. Dark but engaging.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Gore, Violence, Mental illness, and Cannibalism

Minor: Toxic relationship, Ableism, Toxic friendship, Antisemitism, Cancer, and Fire/Fire injury

nxdia's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Toxic relationship, and Murder

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

blackcatkai's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

CW: blood, violence, antisemitism, murder, ableism, fatphobia, food/body shaming, classism, racism (slurs and otherwise), sexual content, rape and other types of sexual assault/harassments, gore, animal cruelty and death, sexism, gaslighting, infidelity, alcohol and drug use, passages that may read a bit homophobic and/or transphobic

no. i get that it's supposed to be a satire overall and youre not meant to like the main character, but my biggest issue was how boring the entire novel is. and technically, it's only a satire in regards to the universe of food in real life, not the sexism or murder or sex or society as a whole or whatever. so maybe if it had JUST been about that, it would've been more successful for me. then the character of Dorothy would've read better with her vapid, self important, condescending, holier than thou bullshit. but not here, not when you throw in everything else.

pacing? all over the place, mainly slow. cannibalism and violence? well, its THERE, technically? but it takes forever to get to the gruesome bits and then theyre lackluster at best. this doesnt feel feminist or inclusive or a biting commentary on anything other than narcissists suck. there's also a ton of nuanced information presented in a non-nuanced way that feels like im reading an incomplete wikipedia page with no sources and missing key context. we get it, the author learned about a lot of things and wanted us to know about them, even if some info was left out, leading to what feels like misinformation, even in a fictional story.

this is more a book about gratuitous sex, fancy food, and trips to europe because its the best (except new york city, of course) than it is about cis-female empowerment, cannibalism, or violence. its repetitive use of simile, speaking down to the reader, and infodumps, left me disengaged, bored, and desperate for the end.

basically, this book was not for me, and im so glad its finally over. thank you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Classism, Rape, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Ableism, Racial slurs, Racism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Gore, Murder, and Body horror

Moderate: Sexual assault, Outing, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Mental illness, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Cancer, Homophobia, Antisemitism, Drug use, Cannibalism, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Transphobia

wormgirl's review

dark 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism and Murder

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Gore, Violence, Mental illness, Blood, and Sexual content