Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

139 reviews

daysanchez's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Vomit, Sexual assault, Self harm, Murder, and Physical abuse

bcope84's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Torture, Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Blood, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Vomit

papyruspathways's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The best way I can describe Juniper & Thorn is that it reads sort of like a Studio Ghibli movie, but not in a good way.

After briefly DNF-ing this book, I decided to give it another go. Trying to come up with a rating has been a little difficult.

I acknowledge that sadly this book does not align with my personal preferences and I find myself in a peculiar position, as I have a profound appreciation for this book due to its thematic depth and literary merits. The intense heavy content and violence within the narrative pose a challenge for me.

This enthralling narrative portrayed unsettling events with a poetic elegance that rendered them strangely beautiful. It was the allure of these unconventional metaphors that kept me captivated and intrigued, prompting my imagination to embark on a wild journey while reading.

I urge everyone to take note of the trigger warnings prior to diving into this book. Based on the positive reviews I’ve seen, it hadn’t occurred to me to check them. Child SA, body horror, disorder eating, trauma, self harm, pedo….to name a few.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse

whitney7's review

adventurous challenging dark

5.0

😦

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Murder, Vomit, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Body horror, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual violence

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Pedophilia, Child abuse, and Antisemitism

sarahd0825's review against another edition

dark 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

My first Ava Reid read! She has stunning writing and imagery that can be so visceral and cerebral. I thought that for a horror-ish fantasy with brutal themes, this was a very approachable novel. I think the ending suffered from some pacing issues and that our main character kinda suffered from the plot development being furthered through her naivete but ultimately comes into her own.
CW: child abuse & child sexual assault was graphicly described on page

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Eating disorder, Cannibalism, and Gore

lukewarm_ravens's review

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

I felt like the book could have used another pass at editing. Up until the 3/4th mark, the pacing felt slow. That being said, I enjoyed it. I felt it's depiction of abuse was realistic and the ending was cathartic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Self harm, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Death, Cannibalism, Body horror, Blood, Xenophobia, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Misogyny

haylee_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

Oh goodness, this book was a wild ride. I think Reid wrote such a grotesque gothic horror with such beautiful prose. This is a retelling of The Juniper Tree, which I have not read before. This book is horrifying at times, but I could tell there was clear intention behind every single sentence. The story was harrowing and it had me on the edge of my seat. I really enjoyed the audiobook. I thought the setting was incredibly atmospheric and had so many layers. It’s hard for me to put my thoughts into words right now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Sexual assault, Vomit, Child abuse, Cannibalism, Antisemitism, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Incest, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Animal death, Death, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse

edamamebean's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

I was completely spellbound by this book from start to finish. When I wasn’t reading it, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It’s definitely not a perfect novel. Ava Reid’s prose teeters towards heavy-handedness (something inevitably gets compared to snakes like every five paragraphs) but somehow it still really did it for me. I figured out the mystery element almost immediately, but I kind of think you’re supposed to know or acknowledge what Marlinchen can’t. She, as a main character, is frustratingly naive but you still root for her. Her mentality around sex and virginity is rooted in purity culture in a way that I didn’t like at first, but as I thought about it more I came to accept that it stemmed from the toxic environment she was raised in and wasn’t an opinion of the author herself. At the end of the day, Marlinchen’s sexual awakening is what frees her, so I’ll forgive it. This book gets a 10/10 for vibes and I really recommend it if you’re looking for a dark fairytale but for the love of god, read the content warnings first. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Medical trauma, Animal death, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Blood, Eating disorder, Gore, Xenophobia, Vomit, Murder, Antisemitism, Body horror, Violence, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Medical content, Body shaming, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail

thimi_time's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Wow, this is an extremely emotional and also rather graphic book. Ava Reid really has no qualms about the length she goes to textually illustrate the scenes and plot - this is definitely not a bad thing, I found her imagery quite striking and it really is beautiful to read, but it can/will probably be off-putting to some readers. And some scenes…I was shocked and horrified, but I do think it’s important to show another way that people can be affected by

abuse

. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Gore, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Blood, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Gaslighting

bestiality

.

forgetmenaught's review against another edition

dark 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

Painful, surprising, horrifying. I love Ava Reid’s writing. She turns over rocks to show us the squirming creatures beneath. And somehow it all turns out poignantly beautiful. Gag-inducing yet hopeful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Vomit, Death, Murder, Gore, Violence, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Body horror, and Misogyny

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual violence