Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

6 reviews

jilly_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

I DEVOURED this book. I rarely get this enthusiastic about new horror and this was just *chef’s kiss* perfection. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, and Grief

Moderate: Self harm, Child death, Suicide, Rape, Medical content, Violence, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Death, Sexual violence, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Sexual assault

Minor: Child abuse, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Abortion

aparker89's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This is a solid book! A fascinating story full of terror, love, heartbreak and most importantly- the evil of mankind! 
Good f&cking book! Definitely not for the faint of heart but damn- my heart hurts after reading this! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Classism, Genocide, Medical trauma, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Torture, Confinement, Gore, Police brutality, Colonisation, Death, Grief, Homophobia, and Islamophobia

dan_tee's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

A lot of good stuff in this book. For the pure horror, the author builds tension well and holds it across many pages at a time. It makes you want to know more, even as you're peeking through your fingers. 

It has some interesting themes m, though I'm not sure the author knew what they wanted to say with some of them. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Islamophobia

Minor: Homophobia

A couple of descriptions stick out as offensive/out of place. It's helpful to remember this was written 10+ years ago, and the author is not endorsing homophobic or islsmophonic views, merely using characters with these virws to solidify who these bigots were and what they thought.

kt2e56's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

One of the more fucked up books I’ve read in awhile. There’s a dark sense of humor here mixed in with a macabre, gruesome fairytale that feels oddly fitting in today’s climate with Puritan “Christian” values and fascism on the rise hand in hand with a fear of the “other.”

I definitely recommend this one but agree with others about the bizarre fixation on nipples.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

coleyglasses's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-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 concept for this book was fantastic but the ultimate execution was very much lacking, especially in the back half of the book. 
Additionally

Way too much nipple torture and very poorly written female characters

Made for an uncomfortable read at times and not in the good way

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Vomit

bumblebethbee's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious fast-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? No

4.75

I heard about this Dutch-to-English translated book on the podcast Books In The Freezer and how good it was and let me tell you, I am so glad I picked it up and read it. The story is so compelling, and the complete sense of dread I got while reading it up until even the very end proves to me that Thomas knows what he’s doing. I highly recommend this to anyone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Islamophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide