Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

44 reviews

anntharai'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Self harm, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Xenophobia, Vomit, Violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Death, Sexism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cannibalism, Classism, Confinement, Eating disorder, and Medical trauma

coffeepotoo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

i've never fucking felt so goddamn seen by a characters (very mentally ill) thought process before. also wonderful usage of theming and prose and i read it all in one sitting and it was very excellent.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Incest, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Xenophobia, Violence, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexism, Death, Body shaming, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Antisemitism, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, and Torture

nightmarebees's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

4.25

NOT for the faint of heart, not a book for everyone, but wowie. this was hard to read at many points, and i still couldn’t put it down. the language is vivid and unsettling, the tastes and smells of this world are loud in your mind even when you wish they weren’t. reid writes about trauma and coping mechanisms in ways that don’t feel gratuitous or exploitative. it’s uncomfortable, certainly, but so is experiencing a major trauma. marlinchen and sevas are not made to suffer for the glorification of those traumas, but rather they choose to live on in spite of them. i’m gonna be thinking about this one for a while 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Eating disorder, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Cannibalism, Sexual content, and Pedophilia

Minor: Sexism and Xenophobia

laedyred's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

Finished this one in record time. The romance is cute, it fits the fairy tale setting well.  I noticed a few things that brought it down to 4 stars for me. The characters are mostly flat, in keeping with the fairy tale retelling. The pacing of the book is a bit slow, there is an awful lot of daily activities that probably cut have been cut. The author uses the same set of describing/action words and it feels unintentional. The reveal at the end didn't seem truly earned. All of that being said, I did truly enjoy this one and connect to some of the situations. I had heard that others didn't like this book because of the amount of sexual content but...this is a story about a survivor of SA. And to its credit, the depiction of her mind reflects it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Sexism

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Death, and Violence

readwithria's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Juniper & Thorn is a haunting and deeply disturbing book, and I enjoyed it a lot.

Marlinchen is such a complex character, and I love how she changes throughout the book. Sevas reminds me so much of how dance was both a great love of mine and also how it wrecked my body and my confidence for many years. There was so much truth in this book that really shook me to my core, and I would definitely recommend it.

That said, this book is fantasy horror and has quite a few potential triggers. Ava Reid has a list of content warnings on their Tumblr, and I highly encourage everyone to check them before reading this book. I have included them in the content warning section of this review as well.

Ava Reid has such poetic prose, and I love reading what she writes. I’ll definitely be reading more from them in the future. 4 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Vomit

Moderate: Death, Antisemitism, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Incest, Self harm, Pedophilia, Cannibalism, and Animal death

ale24's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Gore, Violence, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Antisemitism, Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Death of parent, Incest, Sexism, Cannibalism, Classism, and Rape

morgangd's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

An intense tale of trauma in dark fairy tale mode, with every trigger warning under the sun and maybe, just maybe, actually too crass. But it did move me at parts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Murder, Body shaming, Gore, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Rape, Gaslighting, Sexism, Antisemitism, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcoholism

zoeblair17's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.5

Literally ALL the trigger warnings! Not a story for the faint of heart but that warning speaks so highly of the writing! Not usually a horror/dark fairytale gal but the way the author tells this story is immersive and captivating 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexism, Addiction, Alcohol, Confinement, Sexual assault, Grief, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Animal death, Death, Eating disorder, Racism, Vomit, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcoholism

cepbreed's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.5

"People want to ruin things that are clean and new. It's no fun stamping through old dirty snow."

“You would rather me eat your heart than look away in disgust?” 
“Of course,” he breathed. “Every time.”

Ava Reid surprised me. Her detailed and atmospheric prose still hit the same sweet spots as in The Wolf and the Woodsman, but somehow Juniper & Thorn is vastly better. I'm trying desperately to pinpoint what exactly made her sophomore publication so much better and I'm not coming up with anything substantial. The characters were more compelling and I found myself falling for Sevas alongside Marlinchen. Parallelly, as she bloomed under his eye I found myself liking her more and more. Reid's worldbuilding was already impressive in The Wolf and the Woodsman, but she worked magic with an even smaller setting. Somehow constraining her descriptions to one estate (+occasional traipsing around the city) allowed her writing style to really shine. Everything flourished on the page and my immersion was heightened tenfold. Her attention to detail never fails to amaze. I'm not a dancer, but I know exactly what happens to professional dancers' feet, so her mentioning this feature of Sevas was wonderful to see. Oh my god, that exact scene was so UGH. Sevas embodies perfection, strength, and beauty. He exposed his shame to Marlinchen and she never once patronized him, only offering her unconditional acceptance no matter how stupid being insecure of your feet is when you're the principal dancer of a famous ballet.

I vanquish all reviews accusing this book of being "gross" or "overly sexualized." Those people just cannot understand how much Marlinchen means to the girls. To love someone/thing so much you need to consume it. To choose to put your head down and labor for the sake of others. To be pushed to your limits by that tolerance. If you've watched Yellowjackets you'll understand. She embodies girlhood. She is a woman forced to toil at the will of her father and thank him when he punishes her. She is looked down upon by those who are supposed to love her the most (her sisters) and still offers them only compliance. She got everything she deserved in the end and I completely stand behind her. Every woman has imagined that turning point, the one where they finally snap. Nothing was more satisfying to me than watching Marlinchen have that moment.

Ava Reid is the queen of Ethel Cain connoted books.

Songs: 

• Strangers - Ethel Cain 
• notre dame - Paris Paloma
• illicit affairs - Taylor Swift 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Antisemitism, Misogyny, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Eating disorder, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual assault, Murder, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, and Sexual content

Moderate: Medical trauma, Mental illness, Violence, Medical content, Alcoholism, Vomit, Alcohol, and Body shaming

Minor: Pedophilia

oceanic_rabbit's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I enjoyed this, it was dark and twisted and filled with clever world building and well built characters. 

The plot is brilliant, almost everything falls into place as the book draws to a close.

However, the constant breast imagery and a fixation on virginity etc was a little disconcerting and distracting at times. I want to benefit of the doubt though and say it was maybe an element of the dark tale to make you squirm.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, Violence, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, and Bullying