Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy

8 reviews

hauntedantiqueshop's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

I was on the waitlist for this book with my library FOR SIX MONTHS!!!! I was psyched to finally read it. I thought it had an interesting premise and liked where everything was going, up to one point at the end. The whole Nancy twist really threw me, I’m still a little confused on that if I’m honest. But it’s a Good For Her™️ book nonetheless! I also really liked and appreciated the author’s note and afterword. Will definitely read more from this author!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Body horror, Gore, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Mental illness, and Violence

Moderate: Grief, Forced institutionalization, Body shaming, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Animal death, and Bullying

we need a tw tag for cults!

vixenreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Akin to the works of Ottessa Moshfesh, this is an intimate, scary study of a disturbed character going through ordeals that are both relatable and horrifying. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Confinement, Fatphobia, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Gore, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Blood, Grief, Toxic friendship, Torture, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Body horror, Body shaming, Death of parent, Bullying, Violence, Cursing, and Death

Moderate: Kidnapping, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Drug use, Abandonment, Racism, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Cancer, Animal cruelty, Ableism, and Child death

Minor: Alcohol, Excrement, Vomit, and Lesbophobia

Please be aware that there is ageism against middle-aged women, cult activity, family dysfunction, murder of a family member, and purposeful glorification of a serial killer.

parasolcrafter's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

0.25

i dont think ive ever read a book where i have so VISCERALLY hated an entire cast of characters this much ohhhhhh my GOD. genuinely the only likeable characters are nancy and eleanor,  and eleanor turns out horrible in the end (not unexpected at all, just sad) and nancy ends up dying and being the scapegoat for everything, even though she is the only genuiely Good Person (see what i did there, haha ← chanelled the author of the book for that, do u see how annoying it is) in the WHOLE cast of characters. like...im sorry, but what the fuck? like i am genuinely asking: what the fuck. this book just REEKS of being written by someone who has no idea what on earth theyre writing about. and beyind that, the story is so wholly unsurprising, unshocking, un-fucking anything enjoyable. its a spectacle. it really is. its so truly incredible how badly everything came together.

none of the twists feel earned since they were all so easily guessable (like noooo way, mary is the serial killer reincarnated??? oh say it isnt so...surely nobody guessed that at all) and because of that, fell entirely flat. like never once was i caught off guard by a piece of info or shocked or felt as if anything we learned put anything into place snce everything felt obvious from the beginning. like we KNOW there's something wrong with mary from the beginning. we know she killed her neighbours dog. we know that. its obvious. like...i dont even know what else to say about that. it was all just SO badly implemented.

also like it truly is a little mind-blowing how this book still managed to drive home the old 'the serial killer is just a crazy psycho on the loose' despite the fact that i dont think that was meant to be the case...? thats an entirely horrible trope in and of itself and the fact that this book has it in it, just a somewhat misdrect from the entirely obvious plot point, is BAFFLING to me. like it adds nothing the story. nothing. and like..are we supposed to care about mary? are we supposed to sympathize with her? feel pity for her? i hate her. i wish she died out in that fucking desert. i wish the furies would have clawed her eyes out and skinned her the way the members of the flock do to their sacrifices. thats what she deserves. she is a horrible woman, through and through, with no redeeming qualities. i dont believe for even a SECOND that she was ever acting not of her own volition and that its all blamed on 'being the reincarnation of damon cross', aside from the few times he Actually took her over. but before that? before she knew? no; that was all mary.

the only few good parts about this is, at least, that the book is at least self-aware. i appreciated that there was a little bit of satire against true crime culture and it did seem to have (some) insight into what women g through during their lives and how they change during menopause, but those parts were few and far between.

the book also just isnt scary; except, maybe, scary how bad it is.

and to answer the question in the authors afterword which is, directly; 'Was this a story I should have pursued? Or should I have let it scratch in vain inside the haunted trunk of ideas that sits inside every writer's brain?' yes; you absolutely should have locked it away and never looked at this idea again, for fucks sake.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Bullying, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Child abuse, and Mental illness

blacksphinx's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring 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

3.5

I did enjoy this book, but it's a stew of various elements I'm not sure all come together in the end. I don't regret my time with it, but it goes off in a direction I wasn't expecting (both in a good and bad way) and I'm not sure how likely I am to recommend it to others or reread it. I would hold it up as a shockingly good example of feminist horror written by a man though, and I will definitely be reading Nat Cassidy's next book, Nestlings, when it comes out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Sexism, Misogyny, Murder, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, and Gun violence

Minor: Terminal illness, Racism, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, and Death of parent

scytheria's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Sexism, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Body shaming, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Violence, Dysphoria, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Ableism, and Vomit

crispr_breadboard's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This book was incredible. Gory, lots of triggers, but the careful lens of looking at a peri-menopause woman deeply embedded in the toxic patriarchy WHILE STILL being a book about religion, sexism, ageism, and horror? Phew. It was a great book. 

Another impressive note— the author wrote with notable care and sensitivity about menopause- he has also written an afterword discussing the very real and complex topic of whether a man should even be *allowed* to write about the topic with such core themes around womanhood, menopause, and self identity. He did a fantastic job, which he acknowledges is also thanks to his editor and her team of sensitivity readers. Great work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Gore, Grief, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Murder, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Cursing, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Fatphobia

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Excrement, and Death of parent

Also has creepy scenes about insects too.

owlribbon's review against another edition

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Terminal illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, Sexism, Violence, Torture, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child death, Animal death, and Bullying

sleeson's review against another edition

To descriptively gory and massive amount of swearing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Bullying, Blood, Cursing, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Terminal illness, and Gore