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lauriebird's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I really had high hopes for a book. First of all, the cover is gorgeous! Congratulations to the artist because that cover really drew me in and kept me going.
I love to read queer literatureeven if the characters are morally grey or ambiguous. However, I feel there is something… “icky” about the way the author wrote about the woman that I feel falls into the evil lesbian trope. I found that their motivations within the story were not often clear. I feel like it it was written to shock but not provoke the reader to look into the characters. Perhaps he wrote the shock value to distract from what little personality he gave both women? I think this story is so underwhelming for what could have been a truly remarkable premise. Neither woman has a unique voice and honestly, they sound like they’re writing in an into to philosophy course. S.Penkevich said it right when they mentioned that this could’ve been a story that examined class and power dynamics and could’ve given a deeper look into Agnes’ vulnerabilities.
I think it’s also important to note in this story that both women are equally manipulative and manipulated. Agnes and Zoe both use love bombing and silence as punishment. However, Agnes repeatedly reaches out to Zoe (in a way that feels very “lesbians have mommy issues” but I digress) and begs for love while Zoe’s affection is contingent on Agnes completing her tasks. Once Agnes does and becomes obsessed with the relationship between the two of them, Zoe becomes disinterested which leaves Agnes presumably devastated. However, to get to this conclusion, the story meanders through nothingness. I set this book down a few times; not because I was disturbed but because I was incredibly bored.
As I stated, this could’ve been a great book! This book has so much potential. It is disturbing to a point but the prose was just too distracting for me. I feel like if the author gave himself more time to truly develop a voice and personality for both women and delve further into the manipulation and desires for both women, this could’ve been an amazing novel.
I love to read queer literature
I think it’s also important to note in this story that both women are equally manipulative and manipulated. Agnes and Zoe both use love bombing and silence as punishment. However, Agnes repeatedly reaches out to Zoe (in a way that feels very “lesbians have mommy issues” but I digress) and begs for love while Zoe’s affection is contingent on Agnes completing her tasks. Once Agnes does and becomes obsessed with the relationship between the two of them, Zoe becomes disinterested which leaves Agnes presumably devastated. However, to get to this conclusion, the story meanders through nothingness. I set this book down a few times; not because I was disturbed but because I was incredibly bored.
As I stated, this could’ve been a great book! This book has so much potential. It is disturbing to a point but the prose was just too distracting for me. I feel like if the author gave himself more time to truly develop a voice and personality for both women and delve further into the manipulation and desires for both women, this could’ve been an amazing novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Misogyny, Abortion, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Sexism, Animal cruelty, Lesbophobia, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Animal death
Moderate: Violence and Abandonment
Minor: Grief, Classism, and Gaslighting
minty_drops's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I get that the author is a member of the queer community but I feel that it isn’t the place of a non-lesbian to write a torture porn novella surrounding the struggles of a manipulative lesbian relationship. Also for all the talk regarding horrific gore, it feels like it’s written by middle school boys trying to one up each other but doing so very poorly and without meaning. It’s too fast paced to an unrealistic extent, I could barely differentiate Agnes and Zoe since they have to defining traits, and it feels driven by mediocre shock factor.
It was an interesting concept that with better care and the proper story teller could be expanded on beautifully. The only part that stuck with me was the quote “What have you done to deserve your eyes?” Which I wish was further expanded on.
It was an interesting concept that with better care and the proper story teller could be expanded on beautifully. The only part that stuck with me was the quote “What have you done to deserve your eyes?” Which I wish was further expanded on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Violence, Sexual content, Slavery, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Sexism, Self harm, and Child death
Minor: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
harley_sage's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
beautifully written gore, not really my cup of tea tho i hate the open ending and it kind of ruins it a little bit for me, i wish we could've gotten a more concrete ending and knew maybe what happened with zoey as well
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Torture, Violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Medical trauma, and Grief
Minor: Vomit, Slavery, Sexism, and Misogyny
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