Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht

28 reviews

mthevice's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

Beautiful writing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Genocide, Rape, Sexual violence, and Gaslighting

micheala's review against another edition

dark medium-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

2.5

This is a case of knowing a book isn't going to be your cup of tea, and reading it anyways. The author is from Halifax, Nova Scotia and as this is my first weekend since moving here, when I saw it at the thrift store I just had to buy it.

It's a weird horror novella, kind of steampunk/fantasy feeling. It's super dark and graphic, and totally out of my comfort zone.

While I didn't necessarily like the plot or the characters, I will say that it is well written. So if your a fan of horror I would definitely give it a shot. I would recommend looking up some content warnings as it has some big ones.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Excrement, Vomit, and Gaslighting

justacowboy's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is a nasty book, with nasty people doing nasty things. 
If you can get your hands on the audiobook I highly rec it. As it really just made this book so much better! 
This is a dark fantasy horror that follows two men that fancy themselves as monsters. Florian is a wizard with a heart full of hate for the people around him and Johann is the unkillable beast that serves him. 
I love this book so much, it has everything that I love. Nasty main characters, gothic fantasy themes, LGBTQ+ characters, and lastly ... Lots and lots of gore, body horror, and lust. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Death, Incest, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

inferiorwit's review

challenging dark mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Self harm, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence

Minor: Sexual content and Excrement

emory's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Self harm, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Grief, and Stalking

Minor: Pedophilia and Medical content

keen's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Excrement, and Death of parent

emilyparagraph's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Toxic relationship

Minor: Incest and Sexual assault

This novella deals heavily in plague imagery and plague as a force itself.

Part of the main plot is also Florian manufacturing another, worse plague as part of his revenge scheme

moralquibbling's review against another edition

dark funny tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

So so so brilliantly twisted and dark. The writing was lush and gorgeous and every passage was steeped in such phenomenal sharp and violent description. None of the characters were remotely likeable, but they were all fascinating anyways, and I think I still managed to love them all in some weird way. And it was full of dark and dry humour that genuinely added to the dark atmosphere of the novella. Obviously, I adored it and would recommend it to everyone (although do watch out for the content warnings), but it's also so short that you might as well try it out for yourself even if you're unsure if you'd like it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Minor: Rape