Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Every Exquisite Thing by Laura Steven

12 reviews

lucianagrimm's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-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

4.5

It is not often that a book moves me to tears, but Every Exquisite Thing took ownership of my tear ducts from the first chapter. 

The world of Dorian and its chilling beauty was so beautiful and also terrifying. The mystery and plot were gripping with every passing scene with a truly unpredictable ending. 

I had a lot of mixed feelings about each of the characters, each of them complicated in their own ways, but Penny felt close. I have been Penny, and in some ways I still am. The formerly gifted burnt out theatre kid who is constantly terrified of what everyone else thinks, who spent years wasted on shrinking and hiding. (And who is also a shy hopeless lesbian). 

I connected with her, the struggle, the battle that can be so invisible even when cameras followed her everywhere. The distance from her mother, and the ache of a childhood that disappeared too quickly, seriously this book had me feeling everything.

Thank you for her ending. I needed that. And I’m sure there’s a lot of others that need it too.

Finally, the role of portraits and mirrors was so cleverly crafted. The unexplored liminal space of what lurks behind the painted eyes that follow you around the room or the slightly dark reflection that flickers in the corner of your eye is so captivating. 

I would love an origins of Dorian, the creation of the creature of beauty that the university grounds were built on. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Eating disorder, and Death

Minor: Animal death and Suicide

styxx's review

challenging dark mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Animal death, Alcohol, Body shaming, Death, Grief, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness

Minor: Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Murder, Drug use, and Sexual content

book0logy's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Murder, Death, Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Suicide, Grief, and Toxic friendship

nael_doo's review

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder

Moderate: Murder

emolas99's review

dark hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I had high expectations for this book and, frankly, it disappointed me. I love 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and I was stoked to hear about this sapphic retelling. On the bottom line, the material is well adapted to our contemporary context: The main character and narrator Penny agrees to the making of her portrait because it promises her endless beauty, the only currency she thinks she has in this world. Penny's eating disorder is well dealt with and offers the perfect transfer of the 19th century material into the social context of the 21st. So far so good. What disappointed me was that the plot felt patchy and abrupt, the characters apart from Penny are not very fleshed out, and many reveals and explanations feel very easy. Sadly, I did not feel like this could live up to the original material in any way. And yet, I could hardly put it down because of its tension, and it reads very easily and quickly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder

Moderate: Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Death, Alcoholism, and Murder

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Vomit

sinnybuns's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Murder, Body horror, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Eating disorder, and Body shaming

not_asha01's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Murder, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Addiction, Blood, Animal death, and Death

gen_wolfhailstorm's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

October's pick for Amy McCaw's YA Book Club 2023.

Would you sell your soul for beauty, youth and fame... for a chance to make your hard-to-please mother finally see you and say she's proud? Would you care for the cost of such a deal, for the consequences or would you take the opportunity by any means, yelling a reckless 'damn to the risks'?

This is exactly what Penny Paxton does, in this richly gothic, YA retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray, set against the back drop of an elite drama school.

The details of this tale honored the original classic so beautifully, paying homage to the themes of beauty and esteem, classism and power, whilst entirely dripping its on unique seduction of temptation and desire to excell in this highly acclaimed acting school that all the greats studied at.

Penny is pushed reluctantly into this world via her high profile, famous mother, but beneath the attraction of riches and fame, something darker and rotten lingers beneath the halls of the Dorian Drama School.

I loved this book so much so that due to my gumption to savour every morsel of its decedant writing, I completely ran over Amy McCaw's YA Book Club time, but I will definitely watch the recorded live discussion soon.

 The story telling was rich and alluring, the characters intriguing and multifaceted and the pressures of the school were just all too real.

There were very nuanced parts of this that truly reminded me of Coraline, and those chapters were incredibly fascinating because that's truly when the uniqueness of the plot shined even more, detaching itself from the classic and becoming more of itself. I loved this exploration of the power of the paintings because that is something I was constantly curious about when reading The Picture of Dorian Gray. The fleshing out of the history of the school in relation to the success of the students connected with the portraits was such a rich display of creativity and storytelling, which leads me to want to consume everything this author writes.

The conversations also explored sexuality, disordered eating, depression and addiction, to name but a few and they were all handled to raw and real. These themes weren't tip tooed around, but the way they were woven into these characters lives was so well done and felt genuine.

Without a shadow of a doubt, this wholeheartedly deserves all the stars. I loved this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Slavery, and Toxic friendship

amyejones's review

challenging 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Eating disorder, Murder, and Body horror

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Addiction

Minor: Abandonment

_teoeo's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Eating disorder, and Suicide

Moderate: Murder