Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente

14 reviews

semlan's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

2.5

I found the book to be very confusing and had a hard time connecting to the characters. I liked the beginning of the book though, but unfortunately it went downhill from there.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Sexual content, and Domestic abuse

beanaroni's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Genocide, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Slavery, War, Blood, Kidnapping, Violence, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Death

Moderate: Abandonment, Sexual assault, and Torture

Minor: Cannibalism

lanarkunas's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Infidelity, Alcohol, Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Gun violence, War, Vomit, Sexism, Death of parent, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, Child death, Classism, and Violence

hanz's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Child death, Gun violence, Violence, and War

wordsbyzahra's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.0

This wasn't the book for me. I can appreciate the writing. There are certainly some beautifully crafted passages in this book, but I suppose, it was not what I expected. Contrary to some reviews, particularly included on the blurb of my copy, I did not find this romantic. This is a story about many things: death, love, life, suffering, war, and the ways in which the impacts of war on people tend to manifest. I enjoyed the immersion of Russian fairy tales into 20th Century Russia, but I did not enjoy the exploration of the relationships between Marya and Koschei nor Marya and Ivan. Essentially I did not enjoy the supposed 'romance/love story' which was one of the main reasons  picked it up, in addition to the immersion of Russian Fairytales. I'm disappointed that I did not enjoy the story as much as I anticipated, but I think that is more of a 'me' issue. This just wasn't the book for me.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Death, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

cedence's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Violence, War, Death, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Infidelity, Kidnapping, Animal death, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Minor: Cannibalism

abominablesnowaro's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Confinement

Moderate: Child death, Sexual content, War, Torture, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse

Starvation

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

1.0

deathless was one of my most anticipated reads this yr, so it rly rly pains me to give it this rating, making it prolly my most disappointing read of the yr so far. i didnt hate it and the book wasnt in any way bad, but it could've been more. the book's dense and got great and affecting--oft even lyrical--writing; adeptly utilizes its fairytale elements, resulting in an organic fusion of russian fairytale and factual history; original worldbuilding esp for buyan and the territorial war (how even a single leaf, a single rock is divided into the country of life's or death's); it's strangely romantic; and important, thought-provoking themes and msgs that are explored in a complex way.

however, i personally feel that this focus on hammering home the themes might have taken a toll on the story and its ~purely story~ aspect. the book's jam-packed w/ themes and while it's indeed--as a review puts it--bold and subversive, it's also confusing and somehow confoundingly lacking. while marya and koschei def deals w/ themes of love and power, i feel that their scope of story is not expansive enough to deal w/ life and death. the story's partly set in russia during world war ii, led by characters who fight decades long battles, yet a majority of it reads like a domestic drama of an open relationship. i wouldve liked more depiction of the gap between the end of part 2 and start of part 3: what was koschei and marya's relationship like during at least some of the interim 13 yrs? how was marya during her first few battles? a lot went into the start of the leads' relationship, but not enough was illustrated of its everyday meat and subtance. it just feels like a good chunk of the book shows things after they happen, and the few action it shows is not very substantial.

also i dont truly like any of the characters?? not asking for black-and-white characters who are all good or bad, but somehow they're all at least a lil unlikable lol. and after a winding path towards the end, i dont even rly get the ending either, and idk if it's bc im too dumb to understand or if the msg's too obfuscated at that point. this had a lot more potential and im just very sad that it wasnt explored. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, Infidelity, and Sexual content

Moderate: Violence, Confinement, Stalking, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Kidnapping

realm_o_reveries's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Beautifully written - enchanting from start to finish

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content

ryuk's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Grief, and Sexual content