Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'

The Cloisters by Katy Hays

10 reviews

ellenigrace's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

1.75

The characters fell flat for me and the plot was SO slow to start up (one of the main events mentioned in the blurb doesn't happen until over half way through). Once the plot had started in earnest I found the many threads hard to follow and untangle.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Eating disorder, Death of parent, and Murder

kiwij96's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense 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

3.5

I absolutely adored the concept for this book and the cover art so I had to give it a go. I went into this thinking it would be a dark academia type book with the focus on tarot and fate and choices. However, none of this really happened on-page. All the reasons I picked the book up and what made me want to read it happened off-page and so that was a major disappointment. 

However, I stuck with it purely to see where the story would go, and I can honestly say I don't know where it went. All the characters were plain and unlikeable. Ann was way too trusting, and was constantly comparing herself to Rachel and genuinely came across as obsessive sometimes it was a bit unnerving. And then the romance sub-plot was completely unnecessary. The book would have been the exact same without it. The FMC was also just too nice and trusting, she went along with everything. I was getting frustrated at how much everyone just avoided her questions and hid everything from her, and she just,,,let them? 

For all its faults, the book was okay. The discoveries and the twist that happened towards the end were good. But I'm not sure if it has any rereadability. But it was an easy read, it just lacked the academia that I wanted.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Death

Moderate: Car accident, Grief, Toxic friendship, Murder, and Drug use

Minor: Eating disorder and Suicide

lateromantic's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful informative mysterious reflective 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

5.0

Great dark academia read! I don't normally like thrillers, but when it's tarot and old books giving you hints? I'm into it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Eating disorder, Murder, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, and Toxic friendship

abiyy's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.5

I’ll admit that I wasn’t initially sold. Especially in the beginning, the plot is a bit slow and the character exposition feels onerous.  But it lays critical groundwork for a spectacularly told story that leans into how the choices we make shape our path. The characters are complex and you truly come to understand their motivations and desires. I was surprised by some of the plot twists later on, except also not at all because wow they made SO much sense. Reading the final few chapters felt like finishing a puzzle and realizing you’ve got pieces in the wrong spots but now seeing where they actually go. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, Toxic relationship, Death, Toxic friendship, and Death of parent

Moderate: Abandonment, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Eating disorder, Blood, and Car accident

bobin's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

I have really mixed feelings about this book.

I think the fact that the main character was really, in many ways a reversed tarot card of Rachel was interesting, but I still found the ending a little hollow.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder, Death of parent, Drug use, and Death

Minor: Suicide attempt and Suicide

mel024's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious 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

3.25

hmm. hard to say how i feel about this book!! it felt very very derivative
of every other quote unquote dark academia book out there, but that possibly says more about the genre itself than this book in particular. the books greatest strength was also its biggest failure; the mysticism inherent in the tarot never felt real, even though Hays painstakingly explained what they meant. any mentions of ann feeling a sense of magic or power was noted in past tense, as afterthoughts. it simply failed to live up to the expectations it set for itself in the mysticism. the characters were interesting, albeit incredibly tropey — there’s not much original about the

spoiled heiress turned cold blooded killer, the ambiguously brown manual laborer who never stays on the right side of the law, and the pervy academic praying on younger students.

woof ok writing that out just made me knock my review down from 3.5 to 3.25. not a bad read by any means, but let’s just say i was glad i got this from the library and didn’t waste money on it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Murder

Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Eating disorder

thewillowwood's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

An interesting and fast read with a dark mystery that was entertaining to watch unravel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Drug use, and Grief

Moderate: Murder, Car accident, and Suicide

Minor: Eating disorder, Alcohol, Blood, and Sexual content

greenwillow77's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious 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

4.75

This is an excellent read, interesting & compelling in equal measures. It has the dark academia aesthetic running through it like a seam of crystal, the subject matter is fascinating, & the descriptive writing is a joy. 
The comparison with ‘The Secret History’ isn’t one I would agree with except on a superficial level, & I think it’s one that this book doesn’t need. I would compare it more to Tara Burton’s ‘Social Creature’, the drive to succeed in a discipline, a place & an arena that favours the monied & established is the engine of the story. Ann feels her disadvantages, her average background which she has fought to distinguish herself in, her grief & guilt, & those are what influence her decisions. Rachel is the effortlessly beautiful, clever & monied woman, who the story draws out with exquisite tension to reveal in more detail, her beliefs & actions in sharp relief. 
Very enjoyable, a great education in the history of the tarot, & a good read. I look forward to what the author gives us next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Death, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Eating disorder and Car accident

Minor: Toxic friendship

kayladaila's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Classism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Car accident, and Murder

Minor: Sexism and Suicide

aklovekorn's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Car accident, Drug use, Death, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder