Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Leech by Hiron Ennes

5 reviews

ichewonpushpins's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Alcohol, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Violence, Body horror, Child death, Medical content, Sexual violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Dysphoria, Medical trauma, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Fatphobia

Horrible Gothic horror brutality told with a dry, clinical tone. This book was a bizarre and shockingly violent ride.

vellumveela's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Characterization felt a bit forced. Very atmospheric, but I felt still like much more could have been done there. Plot wasn't as deeply weird as I'd hoped it would be, which isn't to say it isn't weird as hell. But you know, if you're going to go there, and you're working with an interesting setting and cast of characters, you might as well all in, yknow?

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Classism, Infertility, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, Death, Medical content, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, and Ableism

Minor: Abandonment, Suicide, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, and Drug use

apiecalypsejen's review

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Chronic illness, and Medical content

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse

Minor: Grief, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Violence, Suicide, Miscarriage, Child death, Animal death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Pregnancy, Murder, and Abandonment

thayerbowen's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

2.5

It’s … confusing

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Blood, Death, Gore, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Miscarriage

dannilmp's review

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

3.75

For a debut novel by Ennes, I was very impressed at the writing! How can one author make me feel so much compassion for a parasite compared to the human race? This book gave me The Haunting on Hill House vibes at time. Isolated from the rest of the world in a chateux, our doctor has to figure out what is trying to compete against his kind completely on his own. Can he figure it out in time while the chateux crumbles around him?

The setting of this novel really added to the atmosphere, while this book does have its many many scences involving blood and gore, it is the ambience that really shines through. The characters seem to grow and devlop as we learn some of their more darker secrets of their pasts. Again I am blown away that here I was feeling so much sympathy and even rooting for the parasites of Inultus over the humans at one point!

However, I feel the ending wasn't quite as upto par with the rest of the story and the ending left me feeling quite unsatisfied. I don't think the last question in the blurb is answered and given the information we get throughout the story, it's not quite simple to come up with your own conclusions as they really are just wild speculation. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Child death, and Gore

Moderate: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Suicide

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, and Abandonment