Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Bluebeard's Castle by Anna Biller

17 reviews

quickspells's review

dark mysterious tense medium-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

0.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Stalking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

glamatcha's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

There's so many moments where the author latches on to some compelling bit of character psychology, but those little glimmers of interest are drowned out by storytelling that is tediously drawn out and a protagonist who is unlikeable from quite early on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism

1goodkaren's review

adventurous dark informative tense 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

2.0

I was so eager and excited to read this book. I love feminist reimaginings of classic tales, but this is not that. This is a regurgitation of men's violence against women, a few statistics about the dangers of strangulation, and a sorry ending. What a disappointment. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Infidelity, Vomit, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

samanthaleereads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

beccaand's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Infidelity

layvender's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

i'm a big fan of biller's films and really admire her voice as a creator. i loved the concept of this novel - a gothic story that acknowledges the genre itself in a modern way. reading this story was at times fun, others difficult, exciting, and frustrating. i don't know that i will ever call this a favorite, but that doesn't matter as much to me as if the book helps anyone out there to escape a gavin.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death

elizalk's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Anna Biller's style is so distinct, I didn't love it at first, but picturing it in my mind in the same style as her movie the love witch helped the book grow on me. desperately sad and accurate depiction of the justifications many women make to stay with (evil) men. the story felt like promising young women if it were written better, still left me a bit unsatisfied

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment

marinalikeaboatyard's review

dark mysterious tense fast-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

1.0

emerald fennell would direct the shit out of this 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Colonisation

thisischels's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.5

Really wanted to love this one, but the style just wasn’t for me. Execution fell flat, and I felt myself wanting to just get through it to have it finished. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Infidelity, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism

i_would_prefer_not_to's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

I can't tell if it's written badly as pastiche or if it's just badly written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, and Gaslighting