Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

16 reviews

nataliecstrange's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

GORE-geous, effervescent, and just plain beautiful. A perfect example of a Dark Fairytale retelling, that is original and meaningful, but stays true to original fairytale themes and darkness. 

This book is now one of my favourite books ever. A book I will reread often, a book I can feel at home in and see myself in. I love how the Main Character found herself and overcame her meekness during this book. The fantasy and magical aspects were just perfection. I can’t review this and give details because I went in blind, and was fully absorbed and invested in the characters and plot. 

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cameronreads's review against another edition

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4.0

This book was so oddly compelling. The both the writing style and atmosphere were haunting and wonderfully gothic. I outwardly cringed in disgust multiple times. Even the main character, although you’re rooting for her, feels spooky somehow. Her point of view felt almost twisted, as she’s biased by living with her father. I thought it explored its themes so well, especially those of trauma, desire, and story. I felt a little detached from the characters, but I think this is personal preference whether you’d be bothered by this or not (in some ways it adds to the haunting atmosphere). This did extend to the romance as well; there were times when I wasn’t even sure whether we were supposed to be rooting for the couple, but I do like where they ended up. There was also a fair bit of repetition - especially the ‘I’m the third sister and my sisters are beautiful and clever and I’m plain and stupid’, but whilst this was annoying to read it also emphasised just how much Marlinchen’s been brain washed to think this way. Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was the creepy, atmospheric almost horror-esque fantasy I was looking for. 

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aimeemg155's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.5


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morgangd's review

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challenging dark sad tense slow-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

3.0

An intense tale of trauma in dark fairy tale mode, with every trigger warning under the sun and maybe, just maybe, actually too crass. But it did move me at parts.

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carolined314's review

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Dark fairy tale retelling with tons of trauma

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smolone13's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.75

Marlinchen is the youngest of three witch daughters who perform duties for their father to collect money from the town. But after going to the ballet theater, Marlinchen falls in love with the main dancer of the theater.

This book took me on a twisting roller coaster I was not expecting! It was a beautifully written dark fantasy with the smallest hint of romance and an interesting ending. I wished the ending was a little bit longer but I loved it. Would highly recommend.

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kyradannalee's review against another edition

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4.25


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jessmarticorena's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a heavy, dark read. The characters are complicated and not altogether lovable, but individuals that you root for nonetheless. I admire the complexity of Marlinchen and the harshness and honesty of the narrative. This entire book is a twisted fairytale. There are frequent mentions of abuse and being in the mind of Marlinchen may be triggering for some people. I enjoyed the book, but it was just too heavy of a read for me at the time I read this. 

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onthelam's review against another edition

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

4.75


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theatrealpaca's review

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challenging dark emotional slow-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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