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uninvestedreader's review
- 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
Graphic: Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Cannibalism, Self harm, Gaslighting, and Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Murder, Vomit, Xenophobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol
blues_and_reads's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Murder and Vomit
elsa__reads's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Death, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Self harm, Pedophilia, Trafficking, Torture, Mental illness, Animal death, Vomit, and Sexual harassment
jlocy13's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Murder and Child abuse
Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual harassment and Cannibalism
thimi_time's review against another edition
- 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
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
caelfind's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Gore, Cannibalism, Antisemitism, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Minor: Eating disorder
bea_reads_books's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Sexual violence, coercive control, and mental illness are really big themes in this book. The main character and her love interest both experienced sexual assault from adults as minors, and the main character describes in detail exactly what her doctor did to her around 50% of the way through the book. There is no penetrative rape, but it is still hard to read. If sexual violence/harassment is a trigger for you, I would advise you to be extremely cautious about this book, and to take care of yourself if you do decide to read it.
Additionally, the main character is mentally ill. She has violent intrusive thoughts about self harm. She has an eating disorder and forces herself to vomit up everything she eats. She also experiences intense anxiety. As someone who also has anxiety and intrusive thoughts, this was hard for me to read, but also nice in a way. It’s good to know I’m not the only person in the world this happens to.
Aside from the hard parts, this was a well written book in my opinion. The pacing was good, the romance was okay, and the prose and worldbuilding were very compelling. I also liked how the author showed the many ways in which abuse can manifest in someone. The main character, Marlinchen, is one of three sisters. One of them became cruel, taking out her hurt and anger on her sisters because she couldn’t take it out on her father. The other became cunning and level-headed, always making herself seem like the sensible one while working behind her sisters’ backs to gain her father’s favor. And Marlinchen is constantly fielding insults about how she is nothing but a doormat, doing everything her father says without complaint to avoid angering him.
I think this story is a wonderful commentary on the ways in which an abuser can fully and completely f*ck up the lives of everyone around them, and how hard it is for their victims to heal afterward, all wrapped up in the guise of a fairytale retelling.
Graphic: Child abuse, Body horror, Death, Animal death, Blood, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Fatphobia
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
kataleena's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Eating disorder, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Xenophobia
emmedevorak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Grief, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Death
nope_99's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Vomit and Eating disorder
Minor: Sexual harassment