Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever

25 reviews

btrz7's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Murder

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Suicide

ford_defect's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

4.0

This book felt like it was written by someone who probably used true crime Tumblr in the early to mid 2010s, jotted down an idea (or maybe started writing it) for one of their problematic OTPs, went to college and learned how to write, and then turned what was initially a fanfic into a literary thriller. As someone who was pretty active on Tumblr in the early to mid 2010s, I did enjoy reading this because of that familiar feeling it gave me.

Like a guy beating up another guy, but intimately??? Saying "I hate you so much" after having passionate sex????? I lived for that kind of thing.

Though, generally I'm more of a plot guy, and the plot isn't very structured (but it really doesn't have to be). This story wasn't boring as a whole, but the prose was dense and boring for me at times. I don't fault the author for it. I think it's that this type of book (character-led--and unlikable characters at that) isn't really my thing, but I have rated it higher than other books that weren't really my thing. And unlike other books that aren't my thing, I am considering getting a copy to re-read sometime in the far future.  

4/5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, Violence, Suicide attempt, Blood, Death, and Suicide

Moderate: Homophobia, Grief, Antisemitism, Body shaming, and Bullying

Minor: Classism and War

chuckyinspace's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Death, Suicide, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal death, Car accident, and Chronic illness

Minor: Antisemitism and Homophobia

reallyrosalie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Grief, Antisemitism, Animal death, and Self harm

ashlikes's review against another edition

dark slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Grief, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, and Homophobia

Moderate: Blood, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Antisemitism, Sexual content, Suicide, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape, Bullying, Sexual violence, Animal death, Sexism, Vomit, and War

aidareads's review

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

this was an interesting read for me. i found the premise engaging and i admit i had high expectations because of leo's (https://www.youtube.com/@TheBookLeo) review, but i still didn't seem to enjoy it as much as she did.
see, i think my main "problem" with this book is that i really, really wanted to absolutely love it. i was expecting a dark academia type of story - and don't get me wrong, they got the dark part very well. it was the academia part that i believe i've been missing. 
also, while i do think julian and paul's toxic and obsessive relationship was quite well portrayed, i struggled to actually connect with them (and, by extension, with any character in the story). i did appreciate how they progressively get more and more unhinged, but they already started off as a bit insane. i didn't really empathize with neither of them, even if i did suffer for them when they did.
also, i don't know if paul is canonically neurodivergent, but he does exhibit MANY autistic traits, which i found curious. 
overall, i did like the book, but i didn't love it, and i also didn't feel like it was a solid 4 stars. i also checked the trigger warnings for it and was still unpleasantly surprised when i noticed how graphic and frequent self-harm is in the story because it wasn't listed when i checked the tags, so please do take care and check those before reading this!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Homophobia, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Moderate: Antisemitism, Blood, Murder, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, and Drug use

cameronreads's review against another edition

4.0

I don’t quite know how to articulate my thoughts about this book. I can’t even really tell if I liked it, all I know is upon ending it I’ve been left in shock about the entire reading experience. Watching this incredibly toxic relationship progress and reading Paul’s completely unreliable narration felt like watching a train wreck I couldn’t tear my eyes away from. I do think it is excellently and cleverly told; the slow pacing works well for the story, the writing style matches it perfectly, and the unreliable narration that is slowly revealed as more and more unreliable is fantastic. There is something addicting about the relationship between Paul and Julian - they are truly awful together and only bring each other pain but you cannot help but feel so much towards them. I will be thinking about this book for a very long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Homophobia, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Antisemitism, Grief, and Suicide

Minor: Classism and Fire/Fire injury

torismazarine's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Drug use, Suicide, Antisemitism, Car accident, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Alcohol, Sexual content, and War

fuchs_galaxis's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-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

2.0

I don't review books poorly very often, but I just... did not enjoy this one. I don't know if it's bad or anything, I just don't like it. 
The language is interesting and compelling. It's got quotes worth writing down for days. 

I love me some tragic gays, but the relationship between these guys is more distressing than compelling at any given point. We spend a lot of time hearing about how they love each other, but not a lot of time seeing why they're lovable.

I finished it, but mostly out of determination and curiosity rather than wanting to read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Physical abuse

Moderate: Murder and Suicide

Minor: Antisemitism, War, and Homophobia

niccolowilliam's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

Wow. Damn.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Violence, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Blood, Death, Suicide attempt, Classism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Alcohol, Religious bigotry, Outing, and Antisemitism

Minor: Police brutality and War