Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom

12 reviews

bethijay's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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? Yes

5.0

This would have been the best book I read in 2024, but it took me until the end of January to finish it. Really intense at times, the story left me guessing. I will definitely be rereading this many years to come.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

the bad guys die in the end and vengeance is had for all the brutality earlier in the book

mswarbrick's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

A creepy, Gothic, horror story rich with mythology and interwoven with a healthy dose of female rage (and revenge). Definitely not for the faint of heart but oh so deliciously creepy! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Murder

citrulle's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I definitely enjoyed reading this, finishing it quickly, but I am left with conflicting thoughts. The writing is fairly straightforward and simple, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  I would say it was more in the line of fantasy than horror, as some scenes were certainly tense and there was a lot of gore but not particularly scary. 

A lot of the characters felt very shallow and one dimensional, with the exception being Reverend Carter which came as a pleasant surprise to me. I also liked Edward a lot, and hated the appropriate cast. I think Forest was one of the more rounded characters, with complicated motivations that didn’t exist with the others who all had relatively straightforward goals.

I really liked Samson though, and I thought the parts of him trying to remember himself and who he was to be well written and among my favourite scenes in the novel. The journey of Abitha reconnecting with her ancestors and Mother Earth and discovering the magic within her and around her was also a highlight, and I wish her reconnecting with her ancestors had been touched upon a bit more.

I rooted for Abitha through the end, and was glad to see her revenge had, and that she and Samson continue on to be protectors of nature after the fact, but in Abitha’s thirst for revenge, I’m left wondering  how Abitha is different from the men. Confessing their love for their god and hurting others out of fear and anger. I suppose you could say that her anger was justified (I think so) but the end came off a bit like revenge porn. I’d like to think she mellowed out a little bit, considering many innocents were killed in the blood bath at the end.

I did overall enjoy this novel, all that being said. It was a light read, despite the darker subject matter, and I liked reading it. There’s a lot of good ideas in here, and the weaker points weren’t enough to make me DNF or not enjoy reading it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Colonisation

felofhe's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

chasinggrace's review

dark tense 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? No

4.0

A really good read for the Halloween season. If you’ve ever been interested in the Salem Witch Trials, this was hauntingly accurate. So atmospheric. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

prairieraven's review against another edition

I'm honestly a big chicken and the illustrations were amazing but my imagination went on overdrive and I had to stop reading because I got too scared with the demonic possession and demons within the story 

Honestly so far was a solid 4 ⭐ recommend!!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

kds247's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

A perfect spooky read, especially for those who are interested in the Salem Witch Trials. Brom’s incorporation of pagan mythology and the witch trials conducted by the puritans made this such an interesting story. I absolutely couldn’t put it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

bluestar_apologist's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

stephanieanneauthor's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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

5.0

This book gave me everything I wanted and more! I tend to prefer psychological and body horror, but the mix of dark fantasy and historical fiction is blended perfectly into the horrors that occur. And yes, I got some body horror out of this story. As an additional bonus, the audiobook is well narrated.

Brom's writing style is beautiful, and I felt just about every emotion over the course of this dark tale. And given the multitudes of dualities - man vs nature, woman vs man, pagan vs christian, etc - I wouldn't be surprised if I got more out of a second reading. This might just have to be something I re-read in the future.

Overall, the story reminds me of that meme that's something along the lines of: my favourite horror movie genre is "good for her". I cheered Abitha's every success and felt my heart ache for her with every failure. Good for her!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Gun violence, Racism, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

cjfooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail