Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken

10 reviews

lilifane's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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

5.0

I was expecting to feel meh about the book, but to my greatest surprised, I enjoyed almost every second of reading it. Not the finale, though, this caused too much emotional damage. 
It was definitely darker than I expected, with a little too much gore for my liking. But I loved the atmosphere, the writing, the fast-paced plot which never got boring, the characters and their beautiful bonding moments. It even had almost all of my favorite tropes. 
I really, really hate the ending. I hate it so much. Can't wait to continue. Please, I need the sequel now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Grief, Abandonment, Gore, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

lillygabriella's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.5

I should research books before I read them. This is a first in a series, be prepared to be cliffhangered. Dark, depressing, full of blood and gore. Body horror. 

I did not see those twists coming, I have to say.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Death, Gore, and Body horror

Moderate: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Animal death, Grief, Self harm, and Violence

Minor: Vomit

heapofashes's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious sad slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Death, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Death of parent, Gore, Pandemic/Epidemic, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Abandonment

paigeinabook's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Murder, Religious bigotry, Cannibalism, Grief, Abandonment, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Genocide, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and Xenophobia

apierlessbridge's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, and Gore

leedolee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book actually ripped my heart out. 

And I loved every second of it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Murder, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, Child abuse, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Confinement, Gore, Medical content, Self harm, and War

bookishflower's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

14/15+

Thank you BKMRK for sending me an arc! 

Okay, I have no idea how to review this spoiler-free, but I will try my best! 

I’ve had a complicated relationship with Alexandra Bracken’s writing in the past, where I’ve enjoyed the premise but something fell flat, but this lived up to my expectations and more. 

The atmosphere and world building was beautiful, haunting and unique- especially impressive given the abundance of Arthurian inspired media. (I’m a BBC Merlin girl, I love it all). 

Tamsin was wonderfully fascinating, flawed and determined. I’d actually love to see her explore a darker side of herself in the next book, it would make a really interesting dynamic with *redacted*. I’d also like to see more hollower heists…

Emrys is joining the lovable-bastards-with-secret-hearts-of-gold club. (Very catchy, I know). 

The found family provided the relief necessary among the surprisingly dark world of Avalon. There were a lot of side characters that blurred together and got confusing after a while, but the story mostly focused on the main 8 (give or take) characters so this wasn’t too much of a concern. 

The characterisation, plot, pacing, and world building were all amazing. Definitely recommend and after that ending I’ll be needed the sequel as soon as possible!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Genocide, Abandonment, Grief, Body horror, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Alcohol and Alcoholism

noellelovesbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

 Content Warnings: Death, gore, blood, violence, body horror, child death, and animal death. Mention of: abandonment, parental neglect, and child abuse.

***I received an ARC, through Netgalley, ahead of release.***

Wow. That was a ride. When I started the book I really didn't know where it was going to go or how it would need more than one book...well I still don't know exactly where the overall story will go [I'm so excited to see though!] but I definitely see why more books are needed.

It was easy to relate to Tamsin and her feelings of abandonment, lacking, and her fierce drive to do whatever it takes to protect and save her brother. Growing up Tamsin was shown time and again that the only people she could truly rely on was herself and her brother. Knowing that connections to people just delays the inevitable pain when they abandon her, like so many have done before, she actively prevents connections from occurring.

This was such a fantastic read, I loved the lore and storytelling aspect, and I cannot wait for the next installment so I can see where Tamsin's journey takes her! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Body horror, Animal death, Gore, and Bullying

Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, and Child death

uranaishi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Child abuse, Child death, Medical content, Abandonment, Blood, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, and War

Minor: Chronic illness, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Sexual content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

camiclarkbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I received a digital ARC of “Silver in the Bones” by Alexandra Bracken through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. 

Alexandra Bracken’s “Silver in the Bone” takes Arthurian legends and mixes them with an action-packed treasure hunt reminiscent of “Indiana Jones” to weave a nail-biting story of found-family, dark magic, and nearly-forgotten myths. 

Tamsin Lark was never supposed to be a Hollower. She was a mortal and lacked any magical talents, something necessary to break into ancient crypts in search of treasures contained within. That was something her brother Cabell could do, since he posed the One Vision and could see through the magics and break the curses placed by sorceresses. 

But when their ne’er-do-well foster father abandons them without warning, Tamsin has little choice but to join her brother and become a Hollower and figure out how to survive on their own. 

A decade later, new rumors begin to circulate about Tamsin’s long-gone father figure. They say that he abandoned them after acquiring a powerful ring from Arthurian legend, one that Tamsin sets her sights on in hopes it could free Cabell from a terrible curse. 

Tamsin isn’t the only one after the mythic ring. Once the rumor begins to spread, rival Hollowers also hunt for the ring, leaving Tamsin with little choice but to partner with her rival, Emrys. The pair form an uneasy alliance and fall into a conspiracy of dark magic and deadly secrets about ghosts from a long-forgotten past as they try to claim the ring. 

All of Bracken’s characters were solid and had layers of personality and secrets that the reader got to slowly uncover as the book progressed. Each did fall into the occasional rut of cliché, but clichés exist because they’re tried and true. The main character, Tamsin Lark, was an especially compelling character with her prickly personality and fierce loyalty to her adoptive brother, Cabell. Bracken did an excellent job showing the reader how Tamsin’s upbringing and betrayal from her foster father, Nash, affected how she mistrusted others and viewed the glass as perpetually half empty.

“Silver in the Bone” had a compelling plot that keeps the reader telling themselves “just one more chapter!” Bracken maintained steady pacing and kept the characters moving forward but also provided just enough downtime for the reader to get to know the characters. Towards the last quarter of the book, the plot started to seem a little muddled, but at no point was I bored or too confused to keep reading. 

Bracken has great writing chops, which is unsurprising since she wrote several books before this, including the New York Times #1 bestseller, “Lore.” I have a feeling that “Silver in the Bone” will also top some lists when it comes out. Bracken wrote an interesting fantasy story that utilizes Arthurian legends to tell a story full of magic and dark twists and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat the whole way through. 

Do yourself a favor and move “Silver in the Bone” up your TBR! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Death

Minor: Classism