Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever

36 reviews

himboluvr's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

toxic gay people > they are terrible people and this book is fucked up but it’s beautiful and complicated and i want it tattooed on my eyeballs

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Animal death, Murder, Classism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Death, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

eeeeva's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Animal death, Blood, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Murder

enyltiak's review against another edition

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, and Stalking

Moderate: Homophobia, Classism, Child abuse, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Cursing, Drug use, and Suicide

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Genocide, and Vomit

iridaceae's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and War

Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Cancer, Car accident, Child abuse, Colonisation, Drug use, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racism, Torture, and Vomit

ashleysbookthoughts's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No

3.0

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever (not to be confused with the book of the same title released around the same time by Chloe Gong, which I read and reviewed last April), is a fascinating look at an obsessive, toxic relationship between two young men (boys really) that quickly descends into violence. 

Nemerever does a great job of depicting the obsession between these two characters, the cruelty, gaslighting, and emotional turmoil they put each other through, made more intense by external pressures of family expectations and homophobia. He also writes so that the reader is never quite sure which boy is in control of the relationship; it all feels quite tenuous. There are shades of Crime and Punishment here: committing a crime to prove you can, the guilt that follows, which are interesting and tense. 

My main issue with the book is that it’s too long. I think Nemerever could have accomplished the same level of inspection and discomfort in a tighter narrative. There were so many scenes with characters families that seemed excessive relative to their usefulness in providing context. For that reason, I sometimes struggled to pick up the book. And while I ultimately enjoyed it, as unsettling as the subject is, I never thought about it at all when I wasn’t reading it. 

Still, this is a strong debut and I’m interested to see what Nemerever does next. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Murder, and Violence

camsara99's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content

Minor: Animal death and Animal cruelty

lilifane's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book was recommended to me because it is supposed to be similar to The Secret History. Most of the books compared to The Secret History are not at all similar to it, so I didn't have high hopes. But this book actually delivered. The academic part is not as present and mostly takes place at the beginning of the book and the plot focuses on two characters instead of a friends group, but the vibes are basically the same. 

I have very conflicting feelings about these characters, their toxic relationship and actions. But it was such a good read. I loved it and I hated it, and I was sad but also repulsed. It's complicated...  Also, not much is happening because you spend the whole book in one character's head basically, but I still couldn't put it down. Please look up trigger warnings before reading, though, because... uff! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence

li_reading's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Death, Blood, and Animal death

st_ender's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

You may have the feeling that the characters are unlikable at the beginning. It's okay, it is worth to trust in them. This is not a romance novel and the characters not being lovable boys is, I think, the biggest advantage of this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Emotional abuse

Minor: Animal death and Suicide

Manipulation, unhealthy relationship, poor family relations

victorxvale's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Toxic relationship