Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

203 reviews

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

deadnberried's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I might have liked it more if I was more familiar with OG folklore, not  fairytale versions of them that have had the blood and real danger scrubbed out. There is a lovely gothic sensibility to Reid’s writing, and an attempt at a spooky lyrical quality that manifests as a disconcerting simile being dragged on for too long. A lovely quick spooky piece of modern folklore.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Murder, Animal death, and Sexual assault

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

readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

dark 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Xenophobia, Addiction, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Misogyny, Child abuse, Death, Animal death, Violence, Alcohol, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Gore, Classism, Medical content, Sexual assault, Blood, Animal cruelty, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Torture, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Sexual harassment, Murder, and Grief

Moderate: Self harm, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Bullying, and Hate crime

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Pedophilia, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Incest, Racial slurs, Infertility, and Infidelity

Beastiality.

kimco_reads's review

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-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? No

4.25

 Overall I really enjoyed reading this book! I picked it up for the 2024 Trans Rights Readathon  and had a difficult time putting it down. I even spent the majority of my afternoon off reading the second half because it was so intriguing. Going into it I was already drawn in by the idea of a grim-dark retelling of a fairytale, and add in a fairytale I hadn’t heard before and I was hooked. 

This was the first book I’ve read by Reid, and I was impressed with how intelligent the writing was and how poetic the prose was. Reid’s descriptions were visceral and made it feel like I was right there in the story with Marlinchen. The setting of the house felt like it was straight from a fairytale with the description of the main character’s house, yard and various creatures living there. Then as a direct contrast the setting outside of the main character’s house was a developing city with day laborers, a theater, bars, and a beach. Putting these two contrasting settings was an ingenious way for Reid to show the character’s father’s inability to move forward or let any outside influence in. The magic system was simple, but well fleshed out within the story.

Throughout the story I felt the pain and anguish of the main character. I also really appreciated how Reid was able to depict the psychological effects the trauma and abuse often described in fairytales have on different types of characters. The very real way Marlinchen, Undine, and Rose reacted so differently to their father’s abuse was chilling to the core. 

While I thoroughly enjoyed reading Juniper and Thorn, there were a few things that didn’t quite line up to my personal tastes in order to make it a five-star read. For me, the moments of levity were very short and far inbetween. It seemed they were over as soon as they started and they were still always tinged with the main character’s fear of being caught. It makes sense for the story so I understand why Reid wrote it this way. Also, the way the characters were written, I didn’t really know enough about the other characters to care if anything bad happened to them and it wasn’t until close to the end that I cared about the main character’s love interest. The romance read as an instant love connection, and unfortunately I’m just not a big fan of this trope, however, the author did a fantastic job showing that it wasn’t a perfect love, but rather a love that two very scarred characters would realistically cling to. 

That all being said, this book was a great short read. It was chilling in a more psychologically heavy way than I expected, but was pleasantly surprised with. 

Please check your trigger warnings before diving into this one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Animal death, Death of parent, Blood, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, Murder, Rape, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Blood

readingbymollie's review

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Vomit, Body horror, Self harm, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Murder and Sexual content

kateships's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

4.75

I don’t usually read books like this. I love folklore/fairytale based retellings which is why it interested me, and the authors writing drew me in. 

It is… gory, uncomfortable, dark, weird, and at no point did I know what was going to happen. It was oddly more sexual than I was expecting and I don’t think the story needed most of it, but that didn't ruin it for me. 

It’s FOR SURE not a book for everyone. Again, dark and VERY uncomfortable, not scary, but I was fascinated by the theme of hunger and the monsters. I ended up really really enjoying this way more than I expected. 

I am weirdly obsessed and will probably read everything by this author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Sexual assault, Blood, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual content

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Abortion

2_black_dogs's review

challenging dark emotional tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Gun violence, Vomit, Bullying, Cannibalism, Eating disorder, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death of parent, Gore, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, and Death

bavisca's review

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.75

I’m pretty squeamish, but I did think this was very well written. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Murder