Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

A certain hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

85 reviews

refrejarator's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a really fun read, however the main character is (due to her nature) someone I find intensely unlikeable. The description is fun and wild, and full of gore and torrid sex. I personally dont enjoy constant discussion of genitals outside of smut, and this book had a lot of reflections on genitalia (but this lines up well with the main character). 
I'm a vegetarian, and this book at least intrigued me with all the meat and recipe talk. Definitely made me hungry.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Blood, Infidelity, Torture, Death of parent, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Rape, Death, Drug use, Excrement, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Cancer, Gore, Animal death, Confinement, Sexual violence, Chronic illness, Stalking, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, and Toxic friendship

amessina3399's review against another edition

dark funny tense fast-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

3.75

Really great story, lots of parts that I wanted to highlight and carry around with me in my pocket. That being said, the only thing stopping me from giving it a 4 is that the book tries really hard to keep itself as realistic as possible—ie the character saying things like “this book is true, why would I lie” and such things that when plot holes arise, no matter how minor, I’ve been asked not to suspend my disbelief, so they appear more glaring than had the book just given me the story without qualifying anything. Also, wish there were slightly more food/flavor descriptions, being a minor foodie myself. Other than that, great book, very interesting character, and I would recommend to anyone who loves horror and overall nasty bad-assery 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Cannibalism, Cursing, Gore, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Body horror, Rape, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual harassment, Blood, Death of parent, Stalking, and Sexual content

karalara's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-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

1.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Gore, Blood, Sexual assault, Torture, Animal death, Body horror, Death of parent, Murder, Rape, Stalking, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Violence

themeanfrench's review against another edition

dark funny informative tense slow-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

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Body horror, Death, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Murder, Mental illness, and Gore

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Car accident, Blood, Rape, Stalking, and Animal death

Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Terminal illness

bbpettry's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.25

Summers really worked me out with this debut - I'm three years late as always, but damn! It's fun, its grotesque, its twisty and while this protagonist is deeply fascinating, there is no point in the narrative that is positioning for forgiveness. Dorothy Daniels is a violent murderer, and she tells us about that in tales of food and sex and plotting. It feels like Summers made this character by taking all the femme fatale career bitch attitude stuff from the 90's and took it all to its logical conclusion. A man-eater. A writer. A woman. Every time the writing was on the verge of losing me in too much gourmet musing (she is a food critic writing from prison, obviously she'd go on endless food tangents)  she pulls it back with a raunchy one-liner or low brow tv reference (Green Acres being my fave.) Somehow with all this book is, one could describe it as a book about the power of friendship and you'd technically be right. Very misleading, but correct.  
Not 5 because

while the end with Emma knowing all and staying loyal was fun, something about the end felt wanting? I wanted a bloodier end somehow, with her having escaped and maybe she's coming to eat you next kinda thing. But this isn't a horror novel, so maybe the end fits but was clumsy.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Car accident, Murder, and Rape

Moderate: Death of parent, Infidelity, Stalking, and Cancer

racl's review against another edition

dark funny reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

The best way I've found to describe the bulk of the book is that it reads like NBC Hannibal feels to watch. It's downright decadent in it's description and focuses just as much on food as it does on murder. The main character manages to be likeable despite what she describes to the reader and the author really made her feel like a food columnist 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Blood, Cannibalism, Animal death, Gore, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Car accident, Confinement, and Death of parent

nessiesgirl's review against another edition

dark funny reflective slow-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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, and Murder

Minor: Death of parent and Rape

prairieraven's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Cancer, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Abandonment, Alcohol, Medical content, Medical trauma, Violence, Cannibalism, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Infidelity

sydlexi's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Blood, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Death of parent, Rape, and Misogyny

lucylou's review against another edition

dark slow-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

2.5

Crazy read. Interesting enough to finish, but my eyes glazed over a few times reading this, mainly around the 2/3rd mark. A pretentious main character who loves to talk and meander got pretty boring. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Sexual content, Cannibalism, Rape, and Murder

Moderate: Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Alcohol, Death of parent, Cancer, and Classism