Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - The Mirror Season

Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore

42 reviews

hamstringy's review

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

I read this at work and had to go hide in the bathroom to cry about it. Ouch.
This was such an amazing story. It hurts so badly-it’s frighteningly true, and no matter how badly I wanted it never to have happened, I couldn’t make that reality possible, but there’s so much good in there as well.
This book is really peak catharsis, with a lot of really good family and culture woven in. I can tell that McLemore made this with so much care.

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lessthelonely's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

5/5 stars.

Read my review here: https://lonelylesspage.wordpress.com/?p=1267

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karlisimp's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

this one is deep, dark, and depressing. I actually started reading in March of 2022 and have now just finished it. The twist of the novel is something I would hope never happened and yet, it is a loosely based story of the author’s experiences.

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bersblue's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

2.0

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lyd41's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

This book was just so beautiful. The writing was full of imagery that felt poetic in nature. I am so glad the author decided to share their story.

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mandkips's review

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dark emotional sad 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

Content Warnings

nerdinthelibrary's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I hold him. He holds me.
I am held. He is held.

This book... god, this book really hit me. I've only read one other Anna-Marie McLemore books, When the Moon Was Ours, and I read that way back in 2018/2019. I gave it a 3.5, really liked it but didn't adore it. In the years that followed, every book McLemore put out was one I was interested in but for some reason just never picked up. Until finally in 2021 I impulsively pre-ordered The Mirror Season. For the first 40ish pages of this book, I felt how I remembered feeling while reading When the Moon Was Ours - I was liking it but not loving it, more respecting what was clearly fantastic writing than actually enjoying anything. And while I wouldn't necessarily say I enjoy this book, I did begin to fall in love with it after those first 40ish pages. It really snuck up on me and suddenly I was reading almost all of it in one sitting.

This is a tough book. There were moments when I was gripping it so hard I was genuinely worried I would break it. There were other moments where I had to hold back tears. But there were also moments where I was smiling so wide it must have looked silly. The relationship between Celia and Lock is one of the most beautiful I've read in a very long time. The complex dynamic they have because of what they've been through and their different but oh so similar experiences, and the way they navigate their relationship... I just loved it. McLemore's writing is as strong and gorgeous as ever, making me adore a book in my dreaded first-person and present-tense. A much-needed reminder that I need to prioritise their books more.

Not a book I would recommend without caveats (please look at those trigger warnings), but one that I will recommend with my whole heart.

We cannot keep each other together. Neither of us can do that for the other. It's our own work. But we help each other keep track of the pieces.
We make sure nothing gets lost.

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