Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht

34 reviews

sergyar's review

dark slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Sexual assault

theghostly's review against another edition

I was excited to read this because I was expecting an atmospheric and mysterious story but instead it came across as an overly edgy fan fiction written by some teenage girl who thinks a tall guy forcing himself on a “smol bean uwu” is the hottest thing ever. Very much not for me but i’m happy for anyone that did enjoy it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Gore, Incest, and Violence

wichbich's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

The first book from this author. It wasn't my favorite story ever, but I enjoyed many of the conventions that were played with and really liked the world building a lot. Would definitely pick up another book from this author, especially if it expands on this world more. The lore was definitely the best part though I did really enjoy the grimey romance element. The characters themselves didn't really have much of an arc but it's a very short book so it makes total sense. All in all I thought it was a fun, interesting read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Suicide, Child death, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, Sexual violence, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Minor: Blood, Physical abuse, Excrement, Genocide, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts

decaying's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

There is a craving when I flicked the last page of “The Monster of Elendhaven”. A desire to know more about the place that lies at the end of the world; to witness more of Johann’s murderous spree; to watch as Florian ensured his life’s work would meet its end. I was satiated, sure. But I wanted so much more from this book. This place is pulsing with death, corruption, rot—all possible wretchedness you could possibly think of. These characters are undeniably cunning, biting, and with monstrous desires of their own longing to be sated. 

Giesbrecht’s writing has such a grotesque yet somewhat elegant flair that elevated my senses. You can feel the density of Elendhaven’s air. You can almost taste the lingering scent of iron from the bloodiness of this book. You can feel yourself tingling from disgust. It is grimy. It is full of rot. It is corrupt. It is dense with death. 

That growing desire to know more ceases to end. Despite the book’s fascinating and dense with delicious horror, I believe there’s more to be said about the story and the characters. Although it isn’t necessarily fast-paced, I thought everything felt abrupt. And by the time we reached the end, it had simply… ended. I wanted more of them. I wanted to know more about the monsters that have their grip on Elendhaven. I wanted more of the convoluted dynamic between Johann and Florian and just as I was witnessing it grow, that was it.

I wanted to see more development with them as individuals. The book is primarily spent its time through Johann’s perspective, but even so, I felt very little development from him. It’d only been sprinkles of it here and there. From his lack of understanding about humanity, about himself, and how he grows some form of fondness towards Florian. But that was that: only sprinkles of them.

 

However, that’s just about the only issue I had with the book. Its only lack is its length. That it ended so quickly before I was even ready to bid my goodbyes to these characters. Before I could understand them on a deeper level. It feels like a story that could’ve gone a little longer than it did. Just stretching a little longer to allow the characters, the world, and its story to flourish. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Incest

kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, and Murder

Minor: Incest

rachelunabridged's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Blood, Violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Gore, Classism, Sexual assault, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Stalking, and Death of parent

Minor: Child death and Rape

chris_reads's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted sad slow-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

3.0

I have such mixed feeling on this because I loved the prose and atmosphere and setting, but not so much the plot. As with the characters, they were fascinating and well-crafted but I wasn't exactly rooting for them. This had so many elements I love but they just fell short for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Murder, Self harm, Child death, Death, Gore, and Gun violence

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Classism, Violence, Blood, and Terminal illness

Minor: Animal death, Stalking, and Drug abuse

ashley_elizabeth's review

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

I'm not even sure what to say about this book other than it is dark. The writing is incredibly atmospheric and so descriptive it's like I had a mini movie playing out the whole time I was reading it.
The characters are awful in the sense that there's no goodness or redeeming quality in any of them. The scenery is bleak and cold, both literally and figuratively. What we have here is a bit of a folktale and a bit of a revenge story, and I loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Sexual assault

starship_olympus's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

1.5

The prose and imagery are absolutely wonderful!! Gothic horror just isn’t my cup of tea, hence the low (personal) rating. I can imagine though, if you love a dark protagonist in a spooky, pre-apocalyptic Gothic, Northern town, this is the book for you.
I did like the mythos and the world building! I’d love to learn more about the stories and gods of this world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol

bsmucker's review against another edition

dark funny medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Toxic friendship and Sexual assault

Minor: Incest

From the description, I didn't expect this to be a dark comedy. The world reminded me of Dunwall from the Dishonored series, which is what drew me to the story and kept me invested, but the humor and the relationships among the characters wore thin near the end.