Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

51 reviews

captainsillypants's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Rape

Moderate: Slavery, Grief, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, and Sexism

Minor: Trafficking and Slavery

gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

 The Details:
 Narrated by Katie Erich
Unabridged

This was just okay for me. It had a really cool snd unique concept but I just lacked any emotional connection for the story and ended up more or less having it on as background noise, unfortunately. 
I wish I had had a stronger feeling for this title.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Misogyny, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Physical abuse, Gore, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexism, Body horror, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Blood, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Addiction, Abandonment, Violence, Torture, Outing, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Sexual violence

lemerrier's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Body horror, Cannibalism, Physical abuse, Murder, Medical trauma, Grief, Violence, Pregnancy, Gore, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, and Blood

Minor: Trafficking and Infertility

vigil's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

1.5

if nothing else, this book serves as a great manifesto to the vile natures of boy moms. 

somewhere in this book there is a promising story. unfortunately, it comes in small increments, few and far between. 

the first issue with this book is structural. there are two timelines, a past timeline, and a present timeline. in her commitment to the dual timeline, dean gives justice to neither of them, creating an uneven overly drawn out narrative but also an undeveloped and not well thought out one. this book, when it is not repeating itself, giving long drawn out explanations, revealing plot points too early or too late, will actively contradict itself, even when concerning information that was given not even three pages prior. 

in my opinion, this reads like the first draft of a book. the seeds of promise are there, but is ultimately bogged down by nonsense and unnecessary factors. any editor worth their salt would not have sent this book out to print; i am upset that dean doesn’t seem to have that editor in her corner.

another issue is the premise.

book eaters are a species, created by an alien known as the collector, to eat and gather knowledge. however the collector apparently abandoned them, and this plot point is utterly irrelevant to the novel. they live in secret societies for no good reason, and it seems to only make things harder on themselves. there is a sort of vampire racism here (the book eaters here are a very dumb vampire allegory) in the mind eaters who do exactly what you’d think they’d do. this sort of biological reasoning for oppression and discrimination is a common and short sighted trope in sci-fi fantasy and i really wish it would die off already.

this book also chose to essentially make a poor imitation of the handmaid’s tale, by implementing a gender essentialist society (which is utterly ridiculous in general, but especially here where the basis of the society is that knowledge is power) and recreating patriarchal structures, despite book eaters being secluded from human society and explicitly not sharing their customs, aside from stupid moments of christianity that are unaddressed and make no sense. 

the author’s handling of this misogyny is shallow and reductive, and often ends up falling prey to the very structures it is attempting to criticize. it writes a cartoon character of a villain in her elder brother ramsay, who’s pov is written identically to that of a 13 year old boy who’s been radicalized by andrew tate. 

devon herself is mostly devoid of a personality, aside from being kind of selfish (though she has been given no reason and often no option to be selfless) and her most important trait, being a mommy. you’d think that as a former childbride who was sold off twice to become an incubator and had to abandon her first child at three, and had her second unwanted child be a monster who eats brains,  her relationship to motherhood and her children would be fraught and complicated, especially in the case of cai, where she is forced to murder innocents to keep him fed. but alas, no. everything is overcome through the power of motherlove which overcomes all, and is magic, instantaneous, and controls all your thoughts. give me a goddamn break. 

devon has approximately two positive female dynamics, one is the sister of her male friend who she talks too all of twice, and bond over #motherlove with, and the other is a woman she spent two days with and somehow fell in love. the other women are generally portrayed as jealous old hags, and not usually mentioned.

and the ending. the ending is contingent around the fact that the book eater families are undocumented and thus the women cannot leave. so they must go to ireland where there is an unguarded border.

the issue is that the idea for the ending is introduced just a few chapters after the reveal that one of the book eater families uses undocumented immigrants for cheap labor. if you can traffic people in, surely, as an ancient super race, you can find a way to get across the ocean. (if you’re wondering if the human trafficking is relevant or commented upon much, the answer is no. like 50% of all the other information in this book.

the only reason I’m not giving it a flat one star is because this book is exactly like a cw show. it’s not outstanding but mostly banal in its inoffensiveness

(aside from the aforementioned shallow treatment of feminism and the fact that the author creates an asexual character just to be aphobic to him whenever it’s brought up)

and somewhat interesting in its ideas. you can see the promise and potential it has, and occasionally it lives up to it….. then crashes and burns back down. 

it’s like if julie plec did a vegan vampire take on the handmaid’s tale. if that doesn’t make you shiver in horror then i can’t help you. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infertility, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

mo345's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Grief, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, Death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Infertility, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia and Trafficking

addiemae09's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

"If he needed something, she chose his needs over hers. A thousand different times a day in a thousand different ways she had chosen Cai, until the choosing of him had become like breathing. Mother, at all costs."

The Book Eaters follows Devon, a fiercely determined mother trying to protect and feed her unusually intelligent five year old with a hunger for human minds. It focuses on what it means to be a monster, healing from generational trauma, and the cost and meaning of love. 

I don't want to talk too much about the plot because discovering the story piece by piece was one of the best parts about this novel. It alternates between chapters from present-day and the past, starting (I believe) 17 years ago, and working it's way up to the present. The mystery behind Devon's past, the book eaters' lives, and the motivation behind her strangest actions was definitely a motivating factor to continue reading. I didn't want to put it down because I HAD to know what was going on. 

I enjoyed the WLW romance, especially because I'm a sucker for the bright colors x all black relationship. It did feel a little... superficial. I didn't really get time to see the characters pining for each other or interacting much. I felt like more could have been done with that. 

However, something I really enjoyed was the way that it addressed the way that Devon changed as a person with different events in her life, and how one person doesn't have to go strictly from shy to bold or mean to nice, etc. It's a constant process of change and growth. The characters definitely had many different shades and sides to them that I found thoroughly entertaining, but I also didn't really fall in love with any. Part of that could be the short length of the novel because I didn't get much time to get attached to them, but I felt that it didn't make me as invested in the outcome of the book. The difference between a four star and a five star read, for me, is if it gets me to have a really emotional reaction to pieces of paper with ink on them. And this book didn't really do that for me. 

Overall, The Book Eaters was delightful dark and contemplative, and I liked the intrigue behind it. It's a fast and entertaining read, and I would definitely recommend it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Sexual violence

elvahn's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Murder and Sexual violence

quihi's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

I really enjoyed it once I got into it. Unfortunately, it took me two thirds of the book to get really into it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Cannibalism, Confinement, Grief, Body horror, Murder, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Abandonment, Misogyny, Child death, Gore, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Pregnancy, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcohol, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, and Acephobia/Arophobia

ashwaar's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.5

Living secretly within British society are the book eaters, ancient families that survive on literature to sustain and give them knowledge. Devon is part of one of these families, and as a rare girl, her future is carefully negotiated to ensure she produces heirs for their dwindling population. But when she gives birth to a mind-eater, a being who craves and survives on human minds rather than books, Devon must escape from the families to save her son.

A lot is happening in this book, and the story only becomes more intense, gritty and grotesque as it continues. It comes with all sorts of trigger warnings, so be sure to check those out if you’re unsure! But overall, I thought this was a pretty interesting premise, if a little contrived. It sounds a little like an idea I’d think up in my English class at secondary school, but it’s also pretty cool to see someone write it in an actual book.

The story is complex and compelling, jumping between present-day on-the-run Devon and her past, growing up within the families. There is a lot of legacy and lore in the book, and I think the author does well blending it all with the current narrative. You learn more alongside younger Devon, and as a reader, I felt very comfortable with this pacing.

At the same time as I found this book interesting and engaging, I also found it pretty tough to read at points. Because every character does terrible gruesome things, I found it hard to have sympathy or find a connection with any of them. I also found the setting a bit weird, and juxtaposing these mysterious families with the average UK life didn’t feel right. Maybe it would have felt more fitting in its own world, but I know that’s even more lore and background to commit to. It’s not a big complaint for me, and I got used to it as the story went on.

Overall, this was a pretty solid book, just not completely my cup of tea. It’s very plot-heavy, and I’m more of a character-and-vibes reader. I also thought it was very gory, and although I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, it doesn’t make it very enjoyable to read at points. It’s one of those books where I think you’ll be able to tell from a review if you’ll like it or not, and hopefully, I’ve been able to help you out a little bit.

Read more on Wordpress at Bookmarked by Ash: https://book990337086.wordpress.com/

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Classism, Pregnancy, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Infertility, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Death, Drug use, Murder, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Alcoholism, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Alcohol, and Child death

Minor: Vomit

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

---

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