Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

284 reviews

tayo2000's review

dark slow-paced

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

1.5

I just think Ava Reid as an author isn’t for me. Although I think she’s a good writer, and she tackles the themes she chooses to write about well, I find they never come together in a cohesive and enjoyable story for me. 

This book is no exception. This was…messy. The plot moved incredibly slowly, with nothing really happening until the last 1/4 of the book. It was overall just too much trying to be accomplished in a 300 page book in terms of theme, and the plot suffered due to this. The character development wasn’t great either. It was definitely a let down. Although you can certainly see Ava’s writing shining in some spots while tackling some of these intense themes, I overall just think it was too convoluted in the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Self harm, Cannibalism, and Sexual assault

startjpw23's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This is a dark fantasy romance. It is told in the first person by Marlinchen. The location and time aren't given. But the story appears to be set in an alternate Russia. There are electric lights. But local transportation is by horse drawn carriages. There are wizards and witches, but their place in the world appears to be declining. Marlinchen is the youngest of 3 sisters, all of whom are witches. Their mother died under somewhat mysterious circumstances. Their father is a powerful wizard. A curse was put on him. He basically keeps the 3 sisters captive so they can use their powers to earn money from clients. Business is declining. I found the book very engrossing. The author creates a great atmosphere. The world is well fleshed out. The characters have depth. It is unrelentingly grim story. And graphically violent in parts. I recommend the book to someone who wants to read a very dark fantasy romance. You may want to look at content warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Vomit, Death, Gore, Confinement, Child abuse, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent

elys3's review

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

2.5

The usage of similes in this book sucks ass. Also the usage of the word 'capitalism'. Just write about how much capitalism sucks and let us figure it out the rest. Stop using it like a slur smh

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Death, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Sexual assault

louiepotterbook's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

2.75

This book was entertaining for the most part but certain aspects of it left me kinda grossed out and confused. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Self harm, Death, Dysphoria, Gore, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Vomit, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Xenophobia

there is cannibalism in this book as well as a scenes where the characters are turned on by gore.

princegene95's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Gore, Cannibalism, Body shaming, Vomit, and Blood

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Death, Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Animal death, Sexual content, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Alcoholism

Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Medical content, and Medical trauma

kng_writes's review

2.5

Ehhhh, not for me. Just goes to show that pretty prose and a cool concept does not automatically mean a good writer. I truly did not give a singular fuck about any character in this book, not even Marlinchen. They were all so bland and unseasoned. Certain images were repetitive to the point of redundancy (Rose’s violet eyes, plum pits, plum juice). READ TRIGGERS FOR THIS—I dove in and was shocked at what was in here. And this is coming from someone who loved Andrew Joseph White’s body horror books!! At times, this book truly felt like trauma porn. Bad things happening to everybody, but what was the point other than to make everyone suffer?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Gore, Vomit, Animal death, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Antisemitism and Fatphobia

Minor: Xenophobia

wyabook234's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Gore

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Cannibalism

chofa96's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gore, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Animal death, Eating disorder, Vomit, and Murder

kschuster's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Cannibalism, Rape, Death of parent, Child abuse, Classism, Blood, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Murder, Death, and Vomit

fayesavanne's review

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Xenophobia, Drug use, Vomit, Death of parent, Antisemitism, Violence, Eating disorder, Gore, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Blood, Death, Murder, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia