Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder

4 reviews

bibliomich's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Umm, I'm not even sure where to begin with this review.

That was a trip, and one that I'm not sure I ever need to go on again. The world that Lucy A. Snyder created in Sister, Maiden, Monster was one that I was able to get swept up in immediately. The exposition moves quickly, as the first of three protagonists (and the reader) are thrust into a new, post-COVID pandemic, the impact of which seems dire. Over the course of the book, we follow three different narrators, whose stories ultimately overlap in meaningful ways, as they navigate illness, exposure, and survival in a rapidly changing world.

I was invested in all of their stories, and I found the story moved pretty quickly, but ultimately the ending fell flat for me. It felt like a lot of buildup with a somewhat anticlimactic conclusion. I think as the book became more and more unhinged, I just expected the ending to live up to that level of build up. I'm interested in reading the short story on which this book was based, and I would definitely read Snyder's work again. Just probably not this one...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Animal cruelty, Blood, Pandemic/Epidemic, Cannibalism, Body horror, Animal death, and Violence

Moderate: Chronic illness, Dysphoria, and Trafficking

kelisabeth's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Police brutality, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, War, Alcohol, Cancer, Rape, Infertility, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Animal death, Cannibalism, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Pandemic/Epidemic, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Death, Medical content, Trafficking, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Miscarriage, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Violence

l_will8889's review

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Did I enjoy reading this book? Not really. Was I also too invested in the plot to DNF? Yes. Do with that information what you will. 
DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH! Like at all. Seriously. Check those content warnings and HEED THEM. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Genocide, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Body horror, Cancer, Cannibalism, Confinement, Death, Excrement, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Colonisation, Car accident, and Physical abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Infertility, Kidnapping, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Classism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Drug use, Dementia, Ableism, and Biphobia

kyrstin_p1989's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Just when I thought I’d figured out what was going on, I realized I was wrong, over and over until the end of this book. It was beyond fucked up. Creepy, terrifying, otherworldly, apocalyptic. I won’t forget about this one anytime soon. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Cannibalism, Child death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Vomit