Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy

16 reviews

brioches22's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

1.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Child abuse, Cursing, Rape, Sexism, Violence, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Self harm, Bullying, Cannibalism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

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!

---

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!

poisoned_icecream's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Child death, Medical trauma, Animal death, Blood, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Police brutality, Grief, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Murder

Minor: Racism

kate_303's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming and Misogyny

Moderate: Mental illness, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Grief, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Gore, Death, and Misogyny

kchen138's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-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

5.0

Long but so worth it. Incredibly dark, gory, insightful, sensitive, witty, and relatable.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Murder, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Gore, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Torture, Death, Medical trauma, Violence, Dysphoria, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

_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.

---

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

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. 

---

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.

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

hmm… major content warnings here. i do appreciate women’s issues, especially later in life, being amplified and normalized. however, it might just be me but i feel like people enjoying watching or conducting sexual violence shouldn’t be in horror. it feels like the author is just grasping at straws trying to find anything that will scare readers. it  made me sick to my stomach, but not in the way horror should. this was also 150 pages too long. the plot itself was really unique and had a lot of promise, but i think the author copped-out on a lot of the “scares”.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Gore, and Grief

toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

WOWWW OKAY so the last like 30 pages had me holding my breath and freaking out so my brain is buzzing right now...

This book took awhile for me because it was just a lot. It was a lot emotionally and the writing was the kind of writing that demanded my full attention, so while I read this I couldn't be around people or multitasking. it had to just be me and Mary. I'm glad I took my time, and I'm glad I experienced it this way, and a couple of times I felt chills go down my spine at certain horror elements that I will not disclose here. I enjoyed the themes all throughout and wrote down a bunch of quotes in my journal. The afterword is also required reading for anyone who is brave enough to get to the end.

My main critique is that there were some scenes that really dragged and I think that if they had the fat trimmed off of them, they'd be more effective and the book wouldn't need to be as long.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Death, Fatphobia, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Gore, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Bullying, Cursing, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Murder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

eeefann125's review against another edition

dark funny tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Abandonment, Murder, Self harm, Torture, Cursing, Drug abuse, Grief, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Death of parent, Gore, Mental illness, Bullying, Death, Dysphoria, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual violence, and Violence