Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

272 reviews

snackattackisback69's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense 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? No

3.5

I adored the two main characters and the concept of this book. Paired with the impeccable writing it could have been a 5 star read for me if the book had not been so short. I wish even another 100 pages went into expanding the world or fleshing out the ending. Additionally there is a section at the end about a character's backstory that I feel would have fit better at the beginning. If you are interested in this book I would also check the trigger warnings as it is quite graphic. 
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justjai's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

This book at first took a bit to get into. The prose reminded me of bramble off to the side of an unbroken path, me getting caught every once in a while. But I carried on, the story felt a bit distant, but I loved the language and the bits of lore, gore and fantasy woven into it. It’s short page length definitely helped in my enjoyment of this the story told in this style.
This book lent me it's words for a few evenings and I enjoyed each one. 
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gauriraut's review against another edition

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

3.5

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shetef's review against another edition

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

2.5

This book started out fairly interesting but just fell apart catastrophically around the end of the first chapter. Lots of interesting ideas raised and then abandoned. I was pretty excited to have some masc non-binary rep but the author whiffed it on this one.
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sovner736's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

'I'd consume them in a heartbeat, preserve them in every chapter of my body' God I love cannibalism as a metaphor for love. The imagery created by Khaw in this book, is at times visceral and grotesque and at others devastatingly beautiful.
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daybeonemay's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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paigehf's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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disyarning's review against another edition

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

4.5

Delightfully dark, a little disgusting - Khaw is fantastic at writing horrifying scenes in exquisite detail. A love story wrapped up in body horror.
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justacowboy's review against another edition

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

3.0

 A fast read, but a nice one none the less! It was SUPER flowery and I felt like I didn't know what was going on 90% of the time, only to realize ... Yeah. I know whats happening. Its horror, love, and gore wrapped into a nice 100 pages. What's not to love? 
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lori85's review against another edition

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dark
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

I love this book so freaking much I bought it in both the British and US hardcover editions because they have different artwork. I have never felt the need to own more than one copy of the same book in my entire life. I prefer library and ebooks! But I am seriously not kidding when I say it has been YEARS since I have read something that has sent my imagination spiraling off in so many directions. I've dreamed up sequels and backstories for everyone and pondered so many questions of identity, gender and sexuality, the nature of gods and monsters, and so much more. I've been begging, begging, begging my book club to choose The Salt Grows Heavy but instead we keep getting crap like Delilah Green Doesn't Care.
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