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devynreadsnovels's review against another edition
- 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
2.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Biphobia, Child abuse, Slavery, and Lesbophobia
nancydrew023's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Body horror
ferdireads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
the plot was very slow to build, and a lot of situations kept getting hashed out but never resolved. the issues jade started with never get resolved or discussed, so there's no satisfaction there. at one point of the story, it felt like the plot was starting to deviate from what was intended and it just felt really odd. a lot of scenes also felt very out of place, and like a mishmash of ideas. so much was just not clicking; adding onto that the slow pace and buildup, the book starts to disinterest you halfway through.
trang thanh tran did an amazing job with the gothic horror elements of the story, and using bugs/spiders and other creepy crawlers, and parasites, to push the horror aspects was absolutely genius. even if you're someone who isn't squeamish or afraid of these things, reading certain scenes will absolutely make you dry-heave a little and cringe is disgust and fear. im already horribly afraid of all those things, so you can guess how i felt lol.
either way, it was a good gothic horror that utilizes vietnamese cultural elements perfectly, but a lot of it falls flat very fast and jade's poor character development definitely doesn't make things any better. the ending also felt pretty unsatisfying :/. idk if this was the author's debut novel, but it certainly felt like it was.
(one thing im very glad abt tho is that jade is bisexual :') there's very little bi rep out there, so it's very nice to see it)
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
Minor: Alcoholism and Car accident
margaretwaltemath09's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
elysianbud's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Biphobia, Body horror, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
wren_08's review
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gore, Car accident, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
lue_moon's review
- 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
4.75
Additional content warning for bugs, so many bugs in many creepy ways.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Vomit, Car accident, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcohol
bea_reads_books's review
Graphic: Body horror
guessgreenleaf's review
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
Minor: Alcoholism, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Car accident, and Murder
supernines's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Colonisation
Minor: Vomit
Lots of bugs