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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
This book should have a huge disclaimer on the back: Warning: Gut-wrenching heartache ahead! Do not expect a happily ever after!
I think if I had known that going in, it wouldn't have been so bad. Yes, I loved this book. Yes, it was gripping and I couldn't put it down. Yes, it was well written. So what was so awful?
It's not that I disliked the heroine, it's just so sad to read about such a selfish and self-absorbed person who ends up also ruining her one big chance at happiness and in turn, another's life. I cried several times throughout.
On the plus side, I loved the way the story unfolded. Somehow, even though not much happens in the book since she is stuck forever in this cabin, it still manages to be super interesting.
I think if I had known that going in, it wouldn't have been so bad. Yes, I loved this book. Yes, it was gripping and I couldn't put it down. Yes, it was well written. So what was so awful?
It's not that I disliked the heroine, it's just so sad to read about such a selfish and self-absorbed person who ends up also ruining her one big chance at happiness and in turn, another's life. I cried several times throughout.
On the plus side, I loved the way the story unfolded. Somehow, even though not much happens in the book since she is stuck forever in this cabin, it still manages to be super interesting.
Spoiler
I do have to say that when you finally find out who kidnapped Senna, it felt a little contrived that the kidnapper actually had a great enough motive to go through all that trouble for an "experiment"
I just closed the book, and I'm still not sure what the hell just happened. And I mean that in the best possible way. I'm still processing it. I don't know if I've ever read a book with such evocative language or incredible plot twists. The formatting drove me a little crazy since the paragraphs aren't justified, and I'm so used to reading them that way. But I think that off-kilter sense I had with the alignment actually works with this book because nothing in it is what it seems. Tarryn Fisher's work came highly recommended to me by a reader at the publishing company that picked up my books and by a good friend. Both kept insisting that I would love this author, and it's easy to see why. Of course, they were right. Her work is absolutely incredible, and I can't wait to read her other books. I had a hard time putting this one down--even for necessary things like eating or sleeping. When I did, the plot just stayed with me, turning over in my mind. What a beautiful, strange, surreal story. Thank you.
Yup! You read that right. I finished this book in a 24 hour time frame. It was that good. I’ve heard for years now how good this book was but I was never convinced. , Dark and twisty is my favorite only when it is done right!
I’m happy to say I was very wrong. This book is dark. In the most beautiful way. I’ll never forget what was written and I’ve gained another favorite author. Well done.
I’m happy to say I was very wrong. This book is dark. In the most beautiful way. I’ll never forget what was written and I’ve gained another favorite author. Well done.
First, let me say that I love, love, love the cover for Mud Vein! I saw it and knew I wanted to read the book. It was one of those rare times when I didn’t care to read the synopsis because the cover had me intrigued.
On to the book. I wanted to like this book. I kept trying to will myself you know sorta like when you’re bowling and you try to will the ball to roll towards the pin. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.
“I’m cleaning my captor’s house. It feels like betrayal: live in filth or clean your prison.”
This book sort of reminded me of the movie Saw. It was as if the characters were trying to figure out this puzzle and there was a romance thrown into the storyline. I will admit the person who is “Jigsaw” in Mud Vein took me by surprise.
Mud Vein just went on and on and what was meant to shock and awe feel flat for me. On the bright side, the female lead is so real that it was almost as if Fisher took a glimpse into someone’s most inner thoughts and put them on display. Mud Vein is definitely a unique book and different than anything I’ve ever read.
On to the book. I wanted to like this book. I kept trying to will myself you know sorta like when you’re bowling and you try to will the ball to roll towards the pin. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.
“I’m cleaning my captor’s house. It feels like betrayal: live in filth or clean your prison.”
This book sort of reminded me of the movie Saw. It was as if the characters were trying to figure out this puzzle and there was a romance thrown into the storyline. I will admit the person who is “Jigsaw” in Mud Vein took me by surprise.
Mud Vein just went on and on and what was meant to shock and awe feel flat for me. On the bright side, the female lead is so real that it was almost as if Fisher took a glimpse into someone’s most inner thoughts and put them on display. Mud Vein is definitely a unique book and different than anything I’ve ever read.
I never saw that coming. I had so many ideas in my head, but none of them were right. That makes a great book. Definitely kept me guessing. Although it was sad and morose, I enjoyed this story and felt the ending was bittersweet.
Breathe
Once in awhile you come across an author who can put into words the things you need to hear and feel. Tarryn Fisher is this author. Mud Vein is this book.
So many times I got angry at the main character, Senna for being so blind and reckless. That anger was a big part of what made this book so successful to me. It’s a very emotional thriller with trigger topics. So, if you’re one of those sensitive people please do not read this book. Your sensitive feelers will take a beating and encourage you to leave a bad review. If I could I would leave a 6 star rating. Tarryn Fisher is such a dynamic writer.
I so wanted to love this book. Author Colleen Hoover, whom I adore, posted how great this book was and that it was a to read. It was disappointing for me. It was dark and not at all warm and fuzzy. I don't like books that you can guess the ending, this book you definitely can not guess the ending, so there's that. It was written well, it was just not my cup of tea.
Isaac is touch, and he is sound. He is smell and he is sight. I tried to make him a single sense like I did with everyone else, but he is all of them.
WOW!! Just wow!! This book sure did pack a punch! I have to admit for the most part I had no idea what was going on. I can't say that I was confused, but I think I was just as much in the dark as what Isaac and Senna were. I had a million and one guesses but they were all completely wrong, so when things were finally revealed my mind was blown!!
Senna's not an easy character to like. In fact there were times when I almost hated her. She is so closed off and distant and that caused people pain. Especially Isaac. But Senna was handed more shittyness than one person could ever hope to deal with in a hundred lifetimes, let alone one. And somehow I found myself rooting for her. I wanted her to have something good and pure. I wanted her to have love and happiness.
Then there was Isaac. God, how much did I love him!!
Mud Vein is filled with so much sadness and pain. It was heartbreaking. So heartbreaking!!
Tarryn Fisher's writing is superb. This was the first book that I've read of hers and I was simply blown away! I'll definitely be reading more from this author! I can't recommend this one highly enough!
WOW!! Just wow!! This book sure did pack a punch! I have to admit for the most part I had no idea what was going on. I can't say that I was confused, but I think I was just as much in the dark as what Isaac and Senna were. I had a million and one guesses but they were all completely wrong, so when things were finally revealed my mind was blown!!
Senna's not an easy character to like. In fact there were times when I almost hated her. She is so closed off and distant and that caused people pain. Especially Isaac. But Senna was handed more shittyness than one person could ever hope to deal with in a hundred lifetimes, let alone one. And somehow I found myself rooting for her. I wanted her to have something good and pure. I wanted her to have love and happiness.
Then there was Isaac. God, how much did I love him!!
Mud Vein is filled with so much sadness and pain. It was heartbreaking. So heartbreaking!!
Tarryn Fisher's writing is superb. This was the first book that I've read of hers and I was simply blown away! I'll definitely be reading more from this author! I can't recommend this one highly enough!
Having been on my reading list for many years with the constant surrounding praise in the booktube community, I was expecting to be blown away by this "holy grail" of books. With a strong 4.11 rating at the time of writing, it seemed to be thoroughly well-loved. And so I dived in enthusiastically.
SPOILERS!
I appreciated that there was no mundane, daily life sort of preface, and the protagonist is immediately woken in a strange cabin prison (after like 1 paragraph of her introducing herself as a NYT bestseller, kind of weird but ok). She dismisses the pink zippo in a box she finds as a coincidence (which we all know is not, stupid). What a dumb bitch, her biggest trauma of being raped where her rapist was screaming "PINK ZIPPO!!! PINK ZIPPO!!!!! PINK ZIPPO!!!", and she immediately crosses her rapist off as her prim suspect kidnapper? And what kind of nutty fuck would scream "PINK ZIPPO" repeatedly while thrusting into a woman? Did the author just want the protagonist to get triggered of her rape by some necessary household item in the cabin prison but she was too lazy to conceive a realistic circumstance? She could have easily wrote that the protagonist was thrusted prone on the floor, where the rapist's lighter fell out of his pocket in front of her. The only thing in her line of sight and she hyper-fixated on the lighter's every detail, shape and curve as a means of distraction. That would be SO EASY to incorporate, make ten times more sense, and an infinite times more realistic than a rapist screaming pink zippo that would attract his attention. What reason would he fucking scream that? What the hell?
Writing style
I have no idea why people are saying that the writing style is phenomenal. The narration is incredibly robotic, more like churning out statements. I also found it so incredibly weird. Some examples include but not limited to:
"I feel feral"
"Engagement pictures made me want to vomit- especially when they were taken on railroad tracks. I always pictured Thomas the Train rolling over them, his smiley blue face beaded with their blood"
"I pray directly to the God with the hole in his hands"
" Boom! Boom! Boom! Goes my heart..."
So yes, the writing is horrible. The words speak for themselves.
The protagonist
- Her name is Senna, which in medical terms is we refer "Sena" as Senokot, a very effective and powerful laxative. which is fitting because she is a piece of shit
- Why does everybody seem to like her? She has ZERO character, is selfish, entitled, is emotionally stunted, and acts so biazarrely
- Her character is so unredeemable and plain that there is no conceivable reason why 2 men would fall for her (a projection or desire from the author, perhaps)
- There are at least a dozen instances where she literally RUNS AWAY MID CONVERSATION
Nick: wanna go my house?
Senokot: Ok
Nick: *drives there together, goes to door to unlock w laxative behind him, turns around and sees her gone*
*le a few days later sees laxative staring and staring into his house at the main road*
Nick: want to come in
laxative: ok
*drinks one cup of coffee*
Nick: y did u leave that day
Laxative: it wasnt the right day
Nick: oh ok
Nick: ure leaving
laxative: ya ok im coming on tues i dont eat pork
---le tuesday comes---
Nick: freaks out and cooks dinner early cos laxative doesnt have courtesy to tell him what time the dinner is*
Laxative: comes and eats dinner and immediately after gets up to leave
Neek: ure leaving
Laxative: ya im not a hoe (yup)
Niq: wow i am in love w this woman
---le vacation-----
Niq n Laxative peeling prawns
Niq explains what a mud vein of a prawn is, and calls laxative's mud vein alluring
laxative: my people have called me *drops prawns and literaly runs AWAY FROM THE HOUSE AND VACATION AND GOES MIA FOR 3 WEEKS*
Nik: understandble and normal thing for a person to do, i still love her man bc shes so hot n edgy
-randomly bumps into each other at park-
Laxative : (GLARES AT HIM )
Nik: Im sorry i upset you
laxative: u didnt upset me,i finsihed my book I finished writing my book *mumbling to herself about how her robotic facial expression app must have had a bug and confused glaring for winking and to update the software later* (its normal not to talk about how she abandoned him on vacation and ceased all forms of communication bc its what everyone does sometimes)
Nik: oh (to himself: wow shes so hot she finished an entire book in 3 weeks my balls r so hard rn)
I missed u, come w me to my parents hosue now we r having christmas dinner
laxatives: *drenched in sweat and smelly clothing* ok
nik: gets turned on by how indifferent she is to his massive mansion and how she doesn't care that she doesn't look hot or smell good bc she's super edgy like that
- She continuously spends MONTHS in denial about the house. Denying that the zippos and carousel room is a coincidence and doesnt bother to think about clues and allegories in her past that would have literally saved them from starvation, hypothermia and death. Seriously she is so dumb, selfish and lazy
- She passes out at least 10 times and Issac has to save her all the time
- The author has a weird fetish for doctors/surgeons, I cannot count the number of times she uses lines like
"strong surgeon hands, the best hands to be in"
"precise surgeon hands"
"surgeons hands rub across my muscles and my skin until I'm so relaxed" ( what does that have to do with surgeons...)
" I watch his fingers trace it. Surgeon's fingers"
"Steady hands, I remind myself. A surgeon's steady hands"
"where a surgeon sliced my emotionally...."
Like ok I get it sis you have a surgeon fetish.
There is one scene where Issac tells her he loves her and she immediately runs away and climbs up the ladder. Another scene where he says "i make too much sense for you" and she starts to shove and pounces on him and pounds on him and slaps him......
She spends the ENTIRE BOOK whining about how broken she is and shes so abnormal but she does NOTHING to fix herself at all. In fact she loves being edgy and dark and shit, there is a part where she gets ANGRY AT NICK FOR PROPOSING TO HER, BC BEING MARRIED IS NORMAL. She hates being married, and she got angry at him for expecting her "to live that way. The way normal people lived".
*A whole stranger was there for her during her PTSD days for months, slept in her house to keep her safe, cooks her meals, showers her when she is catatonic, tends to her wounds when she cuts herself, buys groceries with his OWN MONEY*
Issac: I think I am in love w you
Laxative: ok *files restraining order*
*mother abandons her at age 9, her father is kind of weird and didnt talk to her for 3 months and skipped her graduation*
laxative: my life is miserable, the world is against me, everyone owes me, I am emo, I hate all forms of color except bland white. I am emotionally stunted and closed off bc my life is so traumatic and hard. I shall act like I am 5 for the rest of my life and be selfish, stupid, entitled, ungrateful, hateful and blame it all on my past. I dont deserve love. love is so repulsive. I am feral, I am darkness, spawn of satans pit, love is for normal people and i am not normal bc my parents has a failed marriage and i am incapable of not generalising and transference which even a 15 year old would be able to process. marriage is lame HISSSSSSSSSSSSS
Nick and Issac: Omg my kind of woman <3 <3 *starts simping*
Plot
The plot is shit. The motives behind the kidnapper were never explained. The fucking psychologist spend like SO MUCH MONEY on lodging, transport and smuggling of humans across borders and food and risk getting arrested just to ship senna with issac? lmao? It would make more sense if it was senna's mother, hell. then last minute the author just slaps "oh u forgot u were institutionalised after ur rape and it was all a hallucination and i called issac over and it all happened in the psychiatric ward yup". Then even after they escaped the cabin and issac sort of splits up with his wife he doesnt end up w senna, and by the way senna is gonna die in one year cos cancer, making the ENTIRITY OF EVENTS REDUNDANT.
This is the worst book I've read this year, no idea why everyone loves it. Yall live in the earth's core with the magma? only explanation cos the bar has never been so low.
SPOILERS!
I appreciated that there was no mundane, daily life sort of preface, and the protagonist is immediately woken in a strange cabin prison (after like 1 paragraph of her introducing herself as a NYT bestseller, kind of weird but ok). She dismisses the pink zippo in a box she finds as a coincidence (which we all know is not, stupid). What a dumb bitch, her biggest trauma of being raped where her rapist was screaming "PINK ZIPPO!!! PINK ZIPPO!!!!! PINK ZIPPO!!!", and she immediately crosses her rapist off as her prim suspect kidnapper? And what kind of nutty fuck would scream "PINK ZIPPO" repeatedly while thrusting into a woman? Did the author just want the protagonist to get triggered of her rape by some necessary household item in the cabin prison but she was too lazy to conceive a realistic circumstance? She could have easily wrote that the protagonist was thrusted prone on the floor, where the rapist's lighter fell out of his pocket in front of her. The only thing in her line of sight and she hyper-fixated on the lighter's every detail, shape and curve as a means of distraction. That would be SO EASY to incorporate, make ten times more sense, and an infinite times more realistic than a rapist screaming pink zippo that would attract his attention. What reason would he fucking scream that? What the hell?
Writing style
I have no idea why people are saying that the writing style is phenomenal. The narration is incredibly robotic, more like churning out statements. I also found it so incredibly weird. Some examples include but not limited to:
"I feel feral"
"Engagement pictures made me want to vomit- especially when they were taken on railroad tracks. I always pictured Thomas the Train rolling over them, his smiley blue face beaded with their blood"
"I pray directly to the God with the hole in his hands"
" Boom! Boom! Boom! Goes my heart..."
So yes, the writing is horrible. The words speak for themselves.
The protagonist
- Her name is Senna, which in medical terms is we refer "Sena" as Senokot, a very effective and powerful laxative. which is fitting because she is a piece of shit
- Why does everybody seem to like her? She has ZERO character, is selfish, entitled, is emotionally stunted, and acts so biazarrely
- Her character is so unredeemable and plain that there is no conceivable reason why 2 men would fall for her (a projection or desire from the author, perhaps)
- There are at least a dozen instances where she literally RUNS AWAY MID CONVERSATION
Nick: wanna go my house?
Senokot: Ok
Nick: *drives there together, goes to door to unlock w laxative behind him, turns around and sees her gone*
*le a few days later sees laxative staring and staring into his house at the main road*
Nick: want to come in
laxative: ok
*drinks one cup of coffee*
Nick: y did u leave that day
Laxative: it wasnt the right day
Nick: oh ok
Nick: ure leaving
laxative: ya ok im coming on tues i dont eat pork
---le tuesday comes---
Nick: freaks out and cooks dinner early cos laxative doesnt have courtesy to tell him what time the dinner is*
Laxative: comes and eats dinner and immediately after gets up to leave
Neek: ure leaving
Laxative: ya im not a hoe (yup)
Niq: wow i am in love w this woman
---le vacation-----
Niq n Laxative peeling prawns
Niq explains what a mud vein of a prawn is, and calls laxative's mud vein alluring
laxative: my people have called me *drops prawns and literaly runs AWAY FROM THE HOUSE AND VACATION AND GOES MIA FOR 3 WEEKS*
Nik: understandble and normal thing for a person to do, i still love her man bc shes so hot n edgy
-randomly bumps into each other at park-
Laxative : (GLARES AT HIM )
Nik: Im sorry i upset you
laxative: u didnt upset me,i finsihed my book I finished writing my book *mumbling to herself about how her robotic facial expression app must have had a bug and confused glaring for winking and to update the software later* (its normal not to talk about how she abandoned him on vacation and ceased all forms of communication bc its what everyone does sometimes)
Nik: oh (to himself: wow shes so hot she finished an entire book in 3 weeks my balls r so hard rn)
I missed u, come w me to my parents hosue now we r having christmas dinner
laxatives: *drenched in sweat and smelly clothing* ok
nik: gets turned on by how indifferent she is to his massive mansion and how she doesn't care that she doesn't look hot or smell good bc she's super edgy like that
- She continuously spends MONTHS in denial about the house. Denying that the zippos and carousel room is a coincidence and doesnt bother to think about clues and allegories in her past that would have literally saved them from starvation, hypothermia and death. Seriously she is so dumb, selfish and lazy
- She passes out at least 10 times and Issac has to save her all the time
- The author has a weird fetish for doctors/surgeons, I cannot count the number of times she uses lines like
"strong surgeon hands, the best hands to be in"
"precise surgeon hands"
"surgeons hands rub across my muscles and my skin until I'm so relaxed" ( what does that have to do with surgeons...)
" I watch his fingers trace it. Surgeon's fingers"
"Steady hands, I remind myself. A surgeon's steady hands"
"where a surgeon sliced my emotionally...."
Like ok I get it sis you have a surgeon fetish.
There is one scene where Issac tells her he loves her and she immediately runs away and climbs up the ladder. Another scene where he says "i make too much sense for you" and she starts to shove and pounces on him and pounds on him and slaps him......
She spends the ENTIRE BOOK whining about how broken she is and shes so abnormal but she does NOTHING to fix herself at all. In fact she loves being edgy and dark and shit, there is a part where she gets ANGRY AT NICK FOR PROPOSING TO HER, BC BEING MARRIED IS NORMAL. She hates being married, and she got angry at him for expecting her "to live that way. The way normal people lived".
*A whole stranger was there for her during her PTSD days for months, slept in her house to keep her safe, cooks her meals, showers her when she is catatonic, tends to her wounds when she cuts herself, buys groceries with his OWN MONEY*
Issac: I think I am in love w you
Laxative: ok *files restraining order*
*mother abandons her at age 9, her father is kind of weird and didnt talk to her for 3 months and skipped her graduation*
laxative: my life is miserable, the world is against me, everyone owes me, I am emo, I hate all forms of color except bland white. I am emotionally stunted and closed off bc my life is so traumatic and hard. I shall act like I am 5 for the rest of my life and be selfish, stupid, entitled, ungrateful, hateful and blame it all on my past. I dont deserve love. love is so repulsive. I am feral, I am darkness, spawn of satans pit, love is for normal people and i am not normal bc my parents has a failed marriage and i am incapable of not generalising and transference which even a 15 year old would be able to process. marriage is lame HISSSSSSSSSSSSS
Nick and Issac: Omg my kind of woman <3 <3 *starts simping*
Plot
The plot is shit. The motives behind the kidnapper were never explained. The fucking psychologist spend like SO MUCH MONEY on lodging, transport and smuggling of humans across borders and food and risk getting arrested just to ship senna with issac? lmao? It would make more sense if it was senna's mother, hell. then last minute the author just slaps "oh u forgot u were institutionalised after ur rape and it was all a hallucination and i called issac over and it all happened in the psychiatric ward yup". Then even after they escaped the cabin and issac sort of splits up with his wife he doesnt end up w senna, and by the way senna is gonna die in one year cos cancer, making the ENTIRITY OF EVENTS REDUNDANT.
This is the worst book I've read this year, no idea why everyone loves it. Yall live in the earth's core with the magma? only explanation cos the bar has never been so low.