Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy

51 reviews

zankzank's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.5

I really do not understand the high reviews…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Bullying, Sexual violence, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, Rape, Torture, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Body shaming

katesmiles's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, and Misogyny

Moderate: Sexual violence

princess_marie's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

It was a good and interesting story that did keep me engaged but it got a little too weird for my taste (almost to the point of being "silly").

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Death, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Misogyny, Murder, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Religious bigotry, Violence, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Medical content

cryptidenthusiast's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

4.0

Initially, this book was a 3 for me. It had slow points, and I found myself struggling to connect to the inner voice of Mary, a woman written by a man. There were points where I was like ‘okay, this is obviously how a man thinks a woman must think’ (the repeated reference and notice of the victims’ breasts, being one point. I can’t speak for everybody, but the first thing I would notice about a spectral murder victim probably wouldn’t be whether or not her breasts were sagging). There was a disconnect there that I struggled with, outside of other issues I had with the overall pacing. 

And then I listened to the acknowledgment. 

Nat Cassidy made a point to do his research, and came from a point of genuinely wanting to bring light to a part of women’s lives that is usually ignored: menopause. And he brought up the point that a lot of Mary’s inner voice wasn’t *her*, but a man, something Nat Cassidy did know and could write, which is why the disconnect was there.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Body horror, Misogyny, and Murder

captainsydney's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Misogyny, Death, Gore, Violence, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Fatphobia, Body horror, Bullying, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Animal death

Minor: Child death

This book is super graphic and deals with a lot of heavy stuff, but I think it handles it all really well. There's A LOT but none of it felt gratuitous and all of it was handled appropriately in my opinion and worth it.

twistykris's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.25

This is a horror novel I'll be haunted by for a while. This was hard to look away from- mesmerizing but grotesque. Cassidy's writing is engaging and the plot twists were unexpected for me. The last 15% of the book or so had me sitting on the couch covering my mouth in horror and disgust (and also a little glee?).

The audiobook narrator, Susan Bennett, does an absolutely INCREDIBLE job. The emotion in her voice when Mary feels angry or scared or meek is just perfectly executed.

I think some of the book was too drawn out though and it could have been trimmed down a little.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Murder, Death, Animal death, Body shaming, Misogyny, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Confinement, Bullying, Death of parent, and Vomit

_meeg's review against another edition

NGL dude this one was just too brutal for me. Felt too unwell to justify continuing reading after the cactus scene.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Sexism, Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Confinement, Grief, Suicide, Death, Murder, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Drug use, Addiction, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Cursing, Excrement, Gore, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts

othersociologist's review against another edition

dark funny medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Sexual violence

alexpiatt's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Torture, Violence, and Sexual violence

novel_grace's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I went in expecting to love this book, and was still surprised by just HOW much I enjoyed it (as much as you can enjoy something this bloody). Despite this being a story hugely about a struggle for identity and reality and personhood, Mary had such a  distinct voice, that only got sharper and more defined as the book went along.

I was truly shocked when I realized a third of the way in that the author is a man, because it truly handled topics of womanhood with the subtly and honesty I would expect from someone who has experienced it first hand. The authors note preceding the book and the afterword truly put this book over the top for me. 

Beyond the incredibly valid and important discussions of patriarchy and womanhood, this book truly succeeds as a horror story. It was so CREEPY in so many way. I had to stop reading it at night because it unnerved me so much. 

Thrilling and genuine and terrifying and surprisingly heartfelt - this might be my new favorite horror novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexual violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny