Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler

14 reviews

kenrya's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I love the writing, but I hate one of the main characters. I am eager to finish this series and move on to a new world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Trafficking, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gore, Racial slurs, Incest, Infidelity, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War

bilal_shumuus's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Death, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Gore, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Body horror, Classism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcoholism, Infidelity, Animal death, Genocide, Grief, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, and Sexual content

Minor: War, Cannibalism, Lesbophobia, and Religious bigotry

jalexpulliamkepler's review

challenging dark slow-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

3.75

complex but lacked the tension to be truly engaging. It honestly feels like the prologue of a different story (which it kinda is)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Pedophilia, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Grief, Slavery, Child death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Medical content, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Trafficking, Child abuse, and Death

Moderate: Animal death, Classism, Blood, Cursing, Infidelity, Abandonment, and Physical abuse

Minor: Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Transphobia, and Death of parent

peachani's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Child death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Slavery, Mental illness, Death, Racism, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, and Sexual assault

Minor: Animal death, Abortion, Infertility, Sexual content, Blood, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, and Racial slurs

antimonium's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

This book gave me the ick. Don't like the whole breeding thing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Infertility, Incest, and Racism

qmedna's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

1.0

This was not what I was expecting... It was so much worse than I thought. Just read some of these quotes, keep in mind I am cherry picking but this is also the main message throughout the book:

Now and then, Doro courted her in his own way. He arrived with a new body—sometimes an appealing one. He paid attention to her, treated her as something more than only a breeding animal. Then, courting done, he took her from Isaac’s bed to his own and kept her there until he was certain she was pregnant. Still, Isaac urged her to use these times to tie Doro to her and strengthen whatever influence she had with him. But Anyanwu never learned to forgive Doro’s unnecessary killings, his casual abuse when he was not courting her, his open contempt for any belief of hers that did not concur with his, the blows for which she could not retaliate and from which she could not flee, the acts she must perform for him no matter what her beliefs.

She sighed and stared down at her daughter’s still face. No, her children gave her pleasure. She loved them, but she also feared for them. Who knew what Doro might decide to do to them? What would he do to this one?

there is incestuous relations since Doro wants to create stronger children to possess. This was the changing point for me, just no

He (Thomas) blinked, looked at himself. “And I guess you’re used to better!” 
“Of course I am! Let me help you and you will be better. You could not have been this way for your wife.” 
“You’re not her!” 
“No. She could not help you. I can.”

Note that our female protag isn't all good either. She, for some reason, also thinks she is doing something good for the man she's talking to even though it really isn't. 💀 Poor Thomas 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest

Moderate: Infidelity, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, and Pedophilia

yruss972's review against another edition

adventurous emotional slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Incest, Infidelity, Murder, and Pregnancy

nstew16's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Classism, Racism, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual content, Slavery, Animal death, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Rape, Murder, and Self harm

amandadevoursbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

I can't even with this book. This was my first Octavia Butler book, and it was INTENSE. It's like Butler looked at every possible taboo and was like let's do this.  Slavery, yes. Eugenics, yes. Murder for compliance, yes. Incest, yes. 

 Anyanwu is a woman in Africa who can shapeshift and heal her self and others. Doro is an ancient "something" that can inhabit other bodies he kills. This book explores their dynamic as two people outside of time. 

Doro is one of darkest, nastiest villains in any book I have ever read. Check the trigger warnings. If you decided to read, go with god/the gods/your own convictions.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Child abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Stalking, Violence, Murder, Racism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, and Xenophobia

nurseamandarose's review

dark emotional sad slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Death, Slavery, Violence, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Blood, Cannibalism, Abandonment, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racism, and Rape