Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

88 reviews

no_one_important's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.25

I really enjoyed the book even though it was quite dark and different from what I would usually read. I loved the fairy tale aspects of it and how Marlinchen used them to understand the world. Even though there wasn't much action, I still found myself unable to stop reading at times, and I kept wanting to read more. This book in my option is well written. At times I  felt like I was in Marlinchen's head. Hearing her thoughts, smelling the food, and feeling what she felt. Other times I felt like an outsider intruding on her story, but too invested to look away.  The only bad things I can say are the I feel there was a bit too much of Marlinchen and Sevas. I wish there was more about her mother and their life while she was still alive. I also would have liked to read a bit more about Undline and Rose because they also suffered their fathers abuse but that wasn't really talked about. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Medical trauma, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Vomit, and Self harm

Moderate: Rape, Pedophilia, Animal death, and Xenophobia

Minor: Incest, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

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. 

---

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

vanessa_books26's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Death, Classism, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Blood, and Animal death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, and Addiction

Minor: Racism and Racial slurs

rachelblair's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful sad 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Cannibalism

Minor: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Gore, and Death of parent

linnybear's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Vomit, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Classism, and Gore

itsmaryhell's review

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Blood, Body horror, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Eating disorder, Vomit, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gore, Misogyny, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Self harm, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Physical abuse

Minor: Abortion

amandaskye's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Blood, Body horror, Antisemitism, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Gore, Death of parent, and Cannibalism

Minor: Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Vomit, and Alcohol

puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

This book sits at the exact intersection of dark fairytale and gothic horror. I absolutely loved it and will definitely be reading Ava Reid’s other books! You will love this if you enjoy gothic atmospheres, monstrous women, unreliable narrators and a bit of body horror.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Cannibalism, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, and Gore

Moderate: Alcohol, Antisemitism, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Body horror, Body shaming, Grief, Vomit, Alcoholism, Animal death, and Pedophilia

Minor: Infertility, Gun violence, and Incest

kennedyno's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I wasn’t expecting to like this book so much considering I DNF’d the authors first novel, but I really connected to this one. This book does not hold any punches, it takes awhile to get to anything particularly horrifying, but the build up is necessary to feel the impact of the terrible things that happen next. Every detail of this story pulled me in and the way the narrator changes as her perspective does is wonderful. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Child abuse

Moderate: Animal death and Alcoholism

paigemushaw's review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Gore

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Alcoholism