Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

214 reviews

callistag1's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Sexism, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Murder, Gore, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Death, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Classism, Vomit, Violence, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

comfy_anna's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gore, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Medical trauma, Cannibalism, Body horror, Murder, Body shaming, Vomit, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Addiction, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Outing, Rape, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Death, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, and Terminal illness

Minor: Abandonment and Abortion

jordyfrombookclub's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death of parent, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Death, Self harm, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Murder, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Cannibalism and Vomit

Minor: Sexual assault and Child abuse

courtzab's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

Definitely different from anything I'm used to reading. Perhaps going in blind on this one was a mistake; the TW's don't bother me, it just wasn't something I was expecting.

The writing was beautiful! I'm just not certain that gothic horror is for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Eating disorder, Gore, Xenophobia, and Cannibalism

multiplyoctopi's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Death, Vomit, Eating disorder, Gore, Emotional abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Xenophobia, Animal death, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

tayo2000's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

1.5

I just think Ava Reid as an author isn’t for me. Although I think she’s a good writer, and she tackles the themes she chooses to write about well, I find they never come together in a cohesive and enjoyable story for me. 

This book is no exception. This was…messy. The plot moved incredibly slowly, with nothing really happening until the last 1/4 of the book. It was overall just too much trying to be accomplished in a 300 page book in terms of theme, and the plot suffered due to this. The character development wasn’t great either. It was definitely a let down. Although you can certainly see Ava’s writing shining in some spots while tackling some of these intense themes, I overall just think it was too convoluted in the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Self harm, Cannibalism, and Sexual assault

zweinst's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Vomit, Animal death, Antisemitism, Rape, Self harm, and Violence

startjpw23's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

This is a dark fantasy romance. It is told in the first person by Marlinchen. The location and time aren't given. But the story appears to be set in an alternate Russia. There are electric lights. But local transportation is by horse drawn carriages. There are wizards and witches, but their place in the world appears to be declining. Marlinchen is the youngest of 3 sisters, all of whom are witches. Their mother died under somewhat mysterious circumstances. Their father is a powerful wizard. A curse was put on him. He basically keeps the 3 sisters captive so they can use their powers to earn money from clients. Business is declining. I found the book very engrossing. The author creates a great atmosphere. The world is well fleshed out. The characters have depth. It is unrelentingly grim story. And graphically violent in parts. I recommend the book to someone who wants to read a very dark fantasy romance. You may want to look at content warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Vomit, Death, Gore, Confinement, Child abuse, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent

maebae's review

dark emotional mysterious tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Vomit, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Eating disorder, Animal death, and Death of parent

aliciawithoutkeys's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Vomit, Emotional abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Death of parent and Animal death