Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim

28 reviews

emilysshelf's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

3.0

It was a short read that I took longer to read than I hoped for just because it overlapped with socializing on the holidays. I do appreciate feminine rage books and usually enjoy horror/gore, I was very excited for this one based on recommendations I'd gotten. Without spoilers here are some thoughts: I feel this had a slow beginning and I can see how people may be bored and DNF early on. There's nothing super compelling about the MC's narration or life. The MC wasn't anyone I particularly cared for and come to think of it I felt this way for many of the characters. I was mostly apathetic towards Jiwon, (which may have been intentional? Unsure, the author didn't have me often rooting for her despite the obvious reasoning for us to be on her side.) Jiwon just came off as an emotionally immature and kind of jealous, pretentious asshole, especially when viewing her friends and other relationships. A lot of this could've been avoided if she just went to therapy, I get that she was a child of immigrants and her parents obviously weren't going to go be proactive about getting help themselves but for Jiwon and her sister's sake she could've TRIED. There was a bit of victimization on her part despite her "learning" to not think of herself that way and not wanting to continue that cycle like other women in her life. I do wish there were more male figures in her life that didn't suck, this book felt randomly "anti-men" in a similar way to Chlorine by Jade Song. I almost feel that the abuse in her life didn't equate her reaction, which I guess is explained a little bit at the end but I still didn't feel things were justified. Perhaps Jiwon was just a tad of a psychopath at the core or maybe she was always going to slowly unravel this way, up to you to decide I guess. I wanted Jiwon's implied attraction for Alexis to be a bigger point, I wanted her to sit with the possibility of her being LGBT and that maybe impacting her choices as well. I think we barely touched this topic and there was so much potential for their relationship to shape Jiwon's actions. As for the horror elements I think imagery wasn't too graphic and the descent into madness could've been longer, or just better executed. It wasn't super scary at all, or gross at all really, pretty tame on the cannibalism trope unless you're squeamish or new to the genre. I do wish we had a less rushed ending but I understand that it's meant to leave things open ended. Hoping this is a standalone novel and no one requests a sequel, the open ending was a good way to leave things ambiguous. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

cloverandmoss's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Kidnapping, and Abandonment

luhchan's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Murder, and Cultural appropriation

neesbookshelf's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Murder, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Xenophobia and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Stalking and Toxic friendship

spacecadetlav's review

challenging dark tense 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

This book was so incredible. I was hooked from the beginning and it did not let down once the horror kicked in. Every action felt purposeful in progressing the narrative of the state of this family.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Torture, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Terminal illness

mobkima's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.75

4.75 STARS

This was such a brilliantly executed horror book. It was a fast paced decent into madness, and I couldn't keep my eyes away from it. A lot of the themes, especially about mother-daughter relationships, hit very close to home for me. I could understand Ji-Won's seething anger towards the world around her, even if by the end of the book, she was unrecognizable due to her descent to madness.

The plot twist at the end was crazy. By that final page, my jaw was left wide open. If you are a fan of shocking body horror and the types of stories where you watch someone's descent into madness, you will absolutely love this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail

lemonsaurus's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Abandonment

Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship

Minor: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Gaslighting

rachaelwho's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Eh. Belabored a bit. Might make a fun movie, American Psycho style.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Racism, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Stalking, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Pedophilia

gmv's review

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

3.0

The book starts off very slow; her getting to her first killing happens at the halfway mark.  After that, there wasn't much killing.

Lots of drama.  Lots of crying.

Not enough horror.

And way too much all men are evil, dirty, dumb little bastards, and I shall bring them to justice.

Honestly, she will get caught very quickly at the rate she is going.

The brain tumor was actually helping quell her blood lust.  Since the doctor removed it, she is now fully unleashed to kill all dudes with blue eyes.  If that's not the case, well, then the brain tumor reveal shouldn't have been included cause the MC's mental state is worse off now than before.

I'm impressed that Ji-won's hatred for men filled the hole in her brain enough so she can neatly tie up all murderous loose ends.  Gotta give the MC props for that.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying and Pedophilia

Minor: Body horror, Blood, Murder, and Gaslighting

baronessofbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Stalking, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Vomit