Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht

78 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

aardwyrm's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Pure dark chocolate in unsafe proportions, lovingly rendered villain protagonists full of weird, macabre nonsense and loads of gothic vibes. Skillfully rendered, 100% atmosphere by volume, self indulgent and exquisitely so. Anyway there's weird magic and a lotta murder.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content

gabianjos's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

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

ladylaurenexplorer's review against another edition

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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

So going into this I completely thought this was a monster and a human Love story. My theory was crushed! So the whore aspect of it was actually very good. It kept me reading and I really wanted to know what was going on in the ending to tide everything together somewhat. I wish the ending had ended differently, because I would love a sequel with our monsters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Minor: Rape

panflutes's review

dark medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Murder

mugs_it_is's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Murder

Minor: Rape

quirkyaquarian's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault

orcamagicka's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

A short and easy gothic read full of homoerotic tension, lush prose, absolutely disgusting yet clever descriptions of gore and filth, and two wicked men with near polar opposite yet equally captivating personalities. And despite Johann’s depraved behavior and blackened morality, his witty commentary and “out of pocket” personality had me a bit charmed (then again I love a good nasty villain 👀).

I wish the story could have been 30-50 pages longer, the world building was interesting and has a LOT of potential. It seems like the city was its own character rather than just being a setting, which I love. And while captivating, I wish Johann and Florian’s relationship could have developed more slowly and been a bit more in depth, that way the climax could have had way more of an emotional punch.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Excrement

Minor: Rape and Sexual harassment

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