Reviews tagging 'Cannibalism'

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

414 reviews

whitney7's review

adventurous challenging dark

5.0

😦

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Sexual violence

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

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

Moderate: Eating disorder, Gore, and Cannibalism

conitaa's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Sexual assault, and Cannibalism

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

uninvestedreader's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexual content, Xenophobia, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcohol

mothmania's review

dark mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

arendaes's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

Ava Reid's writing is so beautiful and poetic. The prose flowed in such a way that sometimes it felt like I was being told an actual fairytale (I listened to this on audio.) The story flew by for me, and enjoyed every second of it. 

Our main character Marlinchen was an incredibly sympathetic main character. I personally really liked her, as well as her love interest Sevas. My heart really went out to them and I was on the edge of my seat just because I wanted to see how things turned out for these characters. 

Plot-wise, this is a character-driven story; the plot doesn't really pick up until about 70-75% through the book. The twist was pretty shocking; I didn't guess it, at the very least, but I did find it satisfying and it really fit in well with the themes of the story. I also enjoyed how everything was resolved and was pleased with the ending. 

My only big complaint is that I don't think it was a very good adaptation of the fairytale itself. I have read the Juniper Tree before, and admittedly it's been a while, but I don't think it was like this much at all. 

I will note that this was a very dark story that explored some really heavy themes. I personally am not a huge fan of gore or cannibalism; while both of those are present in this book, I personally did not find them particularly graphic and was able to handle it for the most part. I cannot say the same for other triggers in this book. Abuse and sexual assault is very graphically described so if those are triggers, please proceed with caution. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Self harm, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Gore, Xenophobia, and Cannibalism

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

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Animal death, Pedophilia, Rape, and Xenophobia

Minor: Alcoholism, Incest, and Alcohol

jlocy13's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.25

Heavily based on character development. Could be confusing at times. Last 50 pages is where all the action happens. I was super confused on what was going on but it did circle back and close those confusing ends up well. Romance and self discovery. I enjoyed it this book but I don't know if I'd read it again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Murder

Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, and Vomit

Minor: Cannibalism and Sexual harassment