Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

91 reviews

jowiththetbrshelves's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

This book is exceptionally bleak for a novel described on the inside cover as “darkly sweet.” It’s an A Handmaid’s Tale-esque horror story in a world where people eat books. The world building is confusing and the themes and plot points exceptionally dark and violent. This book is hugely, intensely focused on motherhood and fertility.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infertility and Sexual assault

Book heavily deals with themes of motherhood, fertility

annamorgan27's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Vomit, Child death, Gore, and Misogyny

Moderate: Cursing and Sexual assault

dazzle_spider_reader_1212's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infertility, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Addiction, Medical content, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Trafficking, and Vomit

pumpkinbisque's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.0

interesting premise that fell flat for me. all the characters felt two dimensional, the reasoning behind the eaters and their behavior felt so shallow, the relationships between people felt so flimsy. the constant switching back and forth between past and present was disorienting and i found myself wishing there would be larger chunks of one or the other. i felt like the conclusion wasn’t satisfying? it led up to exactly what it said it would from the very beginning and i just felt like it was being set up to be derailed a bit but any disruption from the original plan was moot. i don’t know. i also felt like the writing could have been more polished/edited; some sentences were frustrating and used words more than once in a way that didn’t feel like they were using repetition as a device, just something that should have been trimmed in edits and revisions. i liked jarrett the most of anyone, but i didn’t care for most of the characters in general. a meh book for me, i almost DNFd but it was a gift so i felt like i had to see it through.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual violence and Sexual assault

rhi_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Body horror, Murder, and Sexism

Moderate: Blood, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Rape

Minor: Gun violence, Torture, Cannibalism, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Trafficking, and Confinement

laaztecabella's review against another edition

dark 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? N/A

5.0

 Okay, if I could give this book higher than 5-stars, I would! First off, I listened to the audiobook version, and I am absolutely in love with Katie Erich's narration!!! Like, I need more of her voice LOL
Second, I just loved the overall story. I've been talking about this book nonstop with my partner and I feel like it will be awhile before I can get it out of my head. I felt quite connected with Devon especially when she was (view spoiler) I was devastated for her!! And I totally understand her struggle of wanting to be free, truly free of the patriarchy and tradition. I understand her devotion to Cai. Like, as dark and sad the story may seem at times, it feels so relatable and real. I feel like I have so much I want to say but I am also at a loss at what to say about this story because it's just that good. I am going to end this review with three quotes that really stood out for me in this story:

"love was not inherently good..."
"Trauma became routine, and cruelty mundane. Just life, innit."
"It was always the same story, she thought tiredly. Just small, angry men, clinging to fading power. They feared living without privilege because they’d abused it against others, and were now terrified of suffering the same cruelty they’d routinely dealt out."

 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault

bookishbedlam's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Murder, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Sexual violence

cassie7e's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I think I've found a new author to bingeread!
I read this book with very little knowledge of what I was getting into beyond "people who eat books" and that made every layer of context a wonderful discovery! I loved the ominous oppressive atmosphere, the literary references, the nonlinear timeline, the nuanced internal conflicts given the external circumstances.  This book is fantastic for the story itself, and on top of that provided some much needed representation.

I think what keeps this from being a 5-star for me is that it is not invested in a lot of world-building. I don't think that hurts this story necessarily but I generally prefer books with more intrigue and complex details. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Blood, Misogyny, and Sexism

Minor: Death, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault

francestea's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious fast-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

3.75

The premise is totally cool, though if you feel weird about the first 50 pages (I did) try sticking with it a little longer! After I settle into the story the remaining 250 pages went by in a flash.
This book is very unique, the writing is compelling and the story is truly new! It feels both dystopian and historical, patriarchal sci-fi/fantasy and feminist fairytale retelling.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Emotional abuse

pettigrew143's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Cannibalism, Death, Violence, Murder, Blood, and Sexual assault