Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Sin Eater by Megan Campisi

10 reviews

katclaybaugh's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I give this a 4.25/5 stars. This book was extremely tender, and there were some parts that made my heart ache to read. I loved reading her internal dialogue as she made her way through the world as a sin eater and grappled with what that meant. 

It was a great premise, and I loved most of it. There were moments when I had to fight to suspend my disbelief for the sin eater overhearing certain conversations between members of the court. 

I also thought this book would’ve been more powerful if the focus of the novel was more entirely on May the sin eater and less on the court of Queen Elizabeth I aka Queen “Bethany”. It felt like the mystery at the court was a bit of a gimmick to mimic popular royal intrigue plot lines to keep us engaged. I felt like the character of May already had so much depth and the role of a sin eater was already so fascinating that the court intrigue felt unnecessary and overwhelmed the parts of this book that were truly special and unique. 

Keeping the world more focused on May and less on the court would’ve allowed deeper explorations of the thematic aspects of - I had especially hoped for more exploration of her relationship to the Instrument Maker as a Jewish man who didn’t believe in sin eating. 

Overall this premise was so unique and was an engaging, tender, dark but not unbearable sort of read, that I really enjoyed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gore, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Death, Ableism, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Torture, and Blood

Moderate: Confinement, Grief, Miscarriage, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Ableism, Abortion, Rape, and Violence

Minor: Infidelity, Infertility, Classism, Animal death, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Incest, Alcohol, Antisemitism, and Xenophobia

gingerchew22's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Violence, Domestic abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

5.0

Really intriguing and unique story! I did not know this bit of history of sin eaters, and loved learning about it. The story is set around a fictionalized version of England with some minor basis in historical fact (Queen Bethany=Elizabeth, Bloody Maris=Bloody Mary).

The plot twists were great and unexpected! The characters were well written and I enjoyed watching May grow throughout the novel. I also loved the writing style and the pacing was well done, I didn’t want to put this one down! The ending was also perfect for this novel. It wrapped things up with the main plot but left things open character wise.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Grief, Vomit, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Torture, Rape, and Pedophilia

dizzy_mittz's review

dark reflective 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? No

3.75

This is a book written by a playwright, which shows in a unique cadence, and it is clear she did her research. Often historical pieces can have unbelievable elements when fiction is added to them, but I never scoffed at this book. It’s a story with the right amount of tension in the right places. It’s also a social commentary that not only speaks to “then” and “now” but also to what may have impacted our time between. It’s a a great story if you’d like it to be, but if you’re open to it, it can also become very cerebral.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Blood, Religious bigotry, Torture, Classism, Death, and Rape

Minor: Death of parent, Incest, and Miscarriage

maryarelis's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.25

BORING.
Nothing grasped my attention at all.
This was very disappointing since I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this novel and now that i did i regret casting aside another book for this.

Don’t bother. There are better books with the same “dark” tones out there.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Blood, and Child abuse

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty, Ableism, and Alcoholism

becca_w_'s review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Medical trauma, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Classism, Ableism, Body shaming, Death, Grief, Animal death, Gore, Body horror, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Sexism, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Misogyny, Vomit, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, and Slavery

Minor: Rape and Adult/minor relationship

lunarpeach'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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Death

Moderate: Blood, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Murder, Antisemitism, and Torture

Minor: Rape and Pedophilia

abeeeeee's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Vomit

Moderate: Incest and Pedophilia

Minor: Antisemitism

christoco's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Murder, Rape, Death of parent, Vomit, Child death, and Sexual violence

Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, and Torture

coolbeans's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Venturing into a not oft-traveled genre for me, I picked up Sin Eater with it's historical 16th-century England setting and medieval vibes.  The hook for me was the interesting main character and the author did indeed deliver the goods.  May, caught stealing bread to survive, is punished by being branded a Sin Eater.  Sin Eaters must listen to the final confessions of the dying and eat ritualistic foods that represent the sins the dying have confessed to so that they may be accepted by the Maker in heaven.  This was a very interesting and fascinating story that focused on May and how she copes with this dramatic change in her role in society.

The mystery that is teased in the book blurb for this title does indeed play a part of the story as it drives the character through the plot, but I found myself much more interested in May's evolution as a character.  The author does a wonderful job of putting on the main character's skin and letting us see on the ground level the brutal, unrelenting daily life the young woman endures throughout the novel.  This is not a happy story.  This story does not hold back in it's stark, raw outlook of life during this time period. 

No sudden reversals of bad fortune or miraculous happy ever after here.

But, that's what made this book all the more interesting to read.  The author doesn't ask you to suspend your belief for plot points such as the previous mentioned.  Here is the story, this is how it is.  I admired that.  I also admired the growth of  May and how she finds her footing in the brutal world she walks through.

If you like a medieval setting with a major focus on the daily trials of the main character who just happens to have an unusual role, this would be a pick for you.  The murder mystery aspect of the story is not a major focus and is not spoken of as much as I thought it would be, but it is an extra element of the plot to enjoy.  Interesting main character, moody atmosphere, satisfying ending.  Would have liked more Country Mouse, but alas, twas not realistic, I understand.  

I give this a 4 out of 5 stars.  Kudos to the Sin Eaters for eating some food items that sounded terribly disgusting.  I guess that was the least of their problems, to be honest.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this title. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Torture, and Cursing

Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

Minor: Child death, Grief, Incest, Infertility, Excrement, and Vomit