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wallwoll'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: Death and Suicide
sunsetcity's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Take that review with a grain of salt. This book was super bizarre and I'm not sure I ever really knew what was going on, but I read through it really quickly and enjoyed my time reading it. I think the ending was super unsatisfying and way too open ended for this kind of story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content
iygatac_reads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
3.25
This book is strange. I enjoyed Ines as a narrator because I think it really worked for the book. There's really no plot to this book and it helped me realize I'm more of a plot person but I don't mind a character book if it's interesting. Like there's kind of a plot, but that's not so much what's important. Some mysteries are left unsolved. The light sci fi in here is very light.
This book is like being underwater. It's a hazy read. Ines is an apathetic narrator but that didn't take me out of the book - I felt like we really got her mental state as we were reading. It also felt like the pacing of the book changed with Ines' mental state and how she was feeling about Catherine.
It's very strange and the ending was a little "oh, that's it?" but I'm glad I went on this strange, hazy, confused journey.
There's little interesting bits sprinkled throughout the book. It's the sort of book I think would be fun to talk about with other people who've read it.
This book is like being underwater. It's a hazy read. Ines is an apathetic narrator but that didn't take me out of the book - I felt like we really got her mental state as we were reading. It also felt like the pacing of the book changed with Ines' mental state and how she was feeling about Catherine.
It's very strange and the ending was a little "oh, that's it?" but I'm glad I went on this strange, hazy, confused journey.
There's little interesting bits sprinkled throughout the book. It's the sort of book I think would be fun to talk about with other people who've read it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
alcohol consumptionballgownsandbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Grief
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Vomit
chemicalpink's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Suicide, and Forced institutionalization
thevietvegan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I like how sex positive the book is, and there is diversity in sexuality in a way that felt normal even though it's based in the late 90s and sexuality in the world then was not quite as accepted to be fluid. But Catherine House is it's own little world anyway so it felt believable. The love interest Theo as a character seemed inconsistent to me, so in love with the idea of Ines instead of actually Ines. In the end, very few people truly understood Ines and that seemed so lonely. It also ends on a cliffhanger and that felt unsatisfying, but at the same time, I understand that open-endedness was the only way for it to go without an entire other book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, and Grief
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Vomit, and Medical content
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
podanotherjessi's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I feel like I'm going to sit with this book in my mind for a very long time and never actually understand it. And there's nothing wrong with that.
I wouldn't recommend this for plot readers. Not a lot happens in this book, and the structure is weird. It's all about the characters, specifically the lead. You're in her head dealing with her confusion, and it's pretty great.
Also, for me, the depiction of stressful, exclusive, small college pressure was just very, very well done. I've known people that handled college like almost every one of these characters. It was a highlight to read for sure.
I wouldn't recommend this for plot readers. Not a lot happens in this book, and the structure is weird. It's all about the characters, specifically the lead. You're in her head dealing with her confusion, and it's pretty great.
Also, for me, the depiction of stressful, exclusive, small college pressure was just very, very well done. I've known people that handled college like almost every one of these characters. It was a highlight to read for sure.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Grief
typedtruths's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
i didn't think it was that weird?? but i loved it
➸ Trigger warnings forslut shaming, dubcon scenes, suicide, alcohol consumption & abuse, emesis, medical examination, unethical human medical experimentation, needles, grief depiction, death of a sister mentioned, death of a best friend & classmate, captivity & forced isolation, and animal experimentation & injury .
▷ Representation: Ines (mc) is Black & queer; queer & bipoc scs.
Blog • Trigger Warning Database • Goodreads • Twitter • Instagram
➸ Trigger warnings for
▷ Representation: Ines (mc) is Black & queer; queer & bipoc scs.
Blog • Trigger Warning Database • Goodreads • Twitter • Instagram
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Medical content
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, and Vomit
ldandridge's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I was really excited based on the description but it ended up just being meh. Nothing really seemed to progress much, and I was hoping for something much spookier. I liked the writing and the setting though. Lots of potential that ended up just falling flat.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Sexual content, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Medical content
motherelectricity's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
was that a fever dream or i've actually read that?
Ines was the weirdest main character, there literally was no personality or drive but it also worked perfectly for this story? Confusing open ending, no thorough explanation of the weirdness, creepy ass atmosphere and culty shit - yesss?? fun, awesome, amazing??
But the biggest wtf of this book wasn't any of that. it's these.. um, brilliant, inspiring quotes:
Ines was the weirdest main character, there literally was no personality or drive but it also worked perfectly for this story? Confusing open ending, no thorough explanation of the weirdness, creepy ass atmosphere and culty shit - yesss?? fun, awesome, amazing??
But the biggest wtf of this book wasn't any of that. it's these.. um, brilliant, inspiring quotes:
- "I didn't like the cookies. Every time I ate them, my stomach filled with unsettled dread."
- "By afternoon, the first flakes fell. They multiplied like a cancer on the glass."
- "I paced from one wall to the next. I took nervous shits."
- "I was sad like a vacuum was sad."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Death