Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

6 reviews

celery's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Pregnancy, Body horror, Kidnapping, Blood, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Suicide, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Infidelity, Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

mirnda's review

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-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

4.0

The beginning had me hooked with its tension, and although the pacing dragged through the middle, by the end I felt like I had gone on a journey with the book. The audiobook narrator, Ines del Castillo, was wonderful and gave the characters so much life. I am looking forward to rereading the book and seeing the ways it slowly folds into its ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Animal cruelty, and Death

Moderate: Mental illness and Sexual content

Minor: Body horror

heytherekaity's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic friendship, Torture, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Alcohol, Confinement, Body horror, and Forced institutionalization

marcostorin's review

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-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

5.0

This book was amazing. It hooked me at the beginning with its description of Ines' mental health issues and her academic troubles, that was like getting punched by a reflection. The descriptions are amazing, the vibe is immaculate and the suspense was great. At a few points I wasn't really sure she was going to make it, still don't know if she did at the end, but I choose to think she won. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Confinement, and Mental illness

Moderate: Body horror, Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Vomit

thefatpaperback's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is a fever dream. I still think back on it and wonder if this was an actual book I read. It’s bizarre, but the writing is incredible. Big moments and shocking events are delivered like ripping off a band-aid: blunt and disorienting. The characters are great too. A friend and I were chatting about the book and he said he liked how it’s diverse without trying to be diverse and I agree. I 10000% recommend. I read this at the end of October and it was haunting for sure (but not scary…I don’t do horror novels!)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, and Physical abuse

Minor: Animal cruelty

characters in this book attend a private collegiate college that performs, sometimes unbeknownst to students, experiments on their bodies and minds. I’m very sensitive to gore and horror—that’s not in this book. But it is a spooky, creepy read, so I wanted to be thorough in my content warnings.

meganelise's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This book gave me serious Magicians meets Mexican Gothic vibes. Something is very clearly OFF about Catherine House from the start, but despite that, the characters are also doing typical college student antics (drinking too much, lots of casual sex, etc.). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Confinement, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Blood, Body horror, and Sexual content