Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Maeve Fly by C.J. Leede

21 reviews

fangirljeanne's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.0

I don’t know what it says about me that I was sad that this didn’t have a happy ending, but it is what it is.

This is a great horror novel, beautifully grotesque and emotionally raw to an uncomfortable degree. It’s very much more lit fic than in tone and execution than horror or splatter punk, though it absolutely holds its own in both genres. The experience of being a woman, especially one who doesn’t fit the unattainable hypocrisy of socially acceptable feminine ideals, is a horrific mind-bending experience.

Maeve is not unique in her weird or messiness, take out the overt violence and this would be like many other women’s lit narrative about the trauma of living under patriarchy. But here, in the framing of a horror novel this narrative feels more authentic, more autonomous compared to the passive victimhood of a lot of white women’s navel gazing fiction, at least until the end. Maeve felt like she was going to give the cliche narrative of the weird girl, the creepy girl, the femme fatale a newer better ending. One where she embraces that aspects of herself that fear of society tells her to suppress and hate. While she escapes the typical fate of “fallen women” of literature, she is still punished for refusing to conform to society. That’s the only aspect of the story I disliked. It felt like a step back after so many subversive strides forward.

I get it, this is a horror novel. Heartbreak is an important aspect of that genre. But I would also argue that few things are quite as frightening to patriarchy as a villainous woman getting everything she wants including love and acceptance. 

Highly recommended to fans of graphic horror and dark humor. If you love the movie May (2002) this book might be for you too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic friendship, Violence, Alcohol, Body shaming, Grief, Torture, Animal death, Bullying, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Cancer, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Medical content, Sexual assault, Classism, Ableism, Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Stalking, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Drug use, Excrement, Rape, Animal cruelty, Body horror, and Chronic illness

randakae's review

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Death, Sexual violence, Gore, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Cursing, Toxic relationship, and Violence

shelilton's review

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical content, Violence, Blood, Death, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Vomit, Body horror, Cannibalism, Excrement, Gore, and Torture

rose_android97's review

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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

Graphic: Violence, Cursing, Gore, Sexual content, Alcohol, Blood, Drug use, and Death

devynreadsnovels's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Murder, Gore, Blood, Torture, Misogyny, Alcohol, Violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Drug use, Grief, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Animal death, Sexism, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Medical content, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Pregnancy, and Rape

mhh831666's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Cursing, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Body horror, Mental illness, and Torture

Moderate: Chronic illness

gloomypanda's review

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Torture, Mental illness, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Murder, Violence, Cursing, Rape, Blood, and Alcohol

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Self harm, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Kidnapping

Minor: Animal cruelty, Vomit, and Drug use

gia1303's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Dysphoria, Gore, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Drug use, Mental illness, Body horror, and Death

Moderate: Stalking, Sexism, Cursing, Rape, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

connorjdaley's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I received the audio from NetGalley for review. This was one that I grabbed solely for the cover. After I was approved, I started seeing a lot of reviews, which definitely bumped it for me. 

This novel is about Maeve Fly, a not-so specific “ice princess” at a not-so specific “amusement park” in California. She absolutely loves her job, but probably not for the reasons you’d imagine. 

I enjoyed the literary voice in this as it’s almost poised as a good-for-her / finding yourself / meets Dexter-y esque inner-monologue type projection. I also liked how as the character becomes more unhinged, so does her crimes, and so does her public projection of herself. Sometimes literally going in public covered in real blood. Some might find that unbelievable, but I thought it nicely highlighted how people’s general perception is just I accept what they see and rationalize it. The police in the story included. 

Other than that though, the character is incredibly narcissistic, completely misunderstanding themselves and the perception they present the world with. It’s arrogance in a not enjoyable way. Though the biggest flop for me, the stake in the heart, is the novels incredibly over-sexualized nature. This is something I’ve mentioned in reviews before, but it seems like such a large chunk of modern horror just uses sex and obscure kinks for whatever propellant it can get as shock value. And while again, I certainly find it “horrific” as it is a ‘horror’, that doesn’t mean I think it’s good or find it enjoyable. 

The novel is still on the edge of enjoyability for me though for sure, and Sosie Bacon’s narration was fantastic. It’s quick, and that keeps it readable. Personally a 3/5* for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Death, Sexual violence, Murder, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Gore, Kidnapping, and Sexual assault

ande_thomas's review

challenging dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

4.0

 

Maeve Fly is a princess. That is, she is an actress who portrays a popular ice princess at a large, unnamed and—I’m sure—entirely fictional theme park south of Los Angeles. She is also cynical, vulgar, unsympathetic, and struggling to control her violent urges. That’s pretty much all we know at the start of CJ Leede’s debut novel, Maeve Fly. 

Even before its release on June 6, Maeve Fly has been building its reputation as a brutal, twisted addition to slasherdom, and we can go ahead and rip that band-aid off right off the bat—it’s a deserving reputation. Leede takes her time in building up to the mayhem, but it’s time well-spent, showing readers what makes Maeve’s brain tick in great detail.

Maeve is refreshingly complex, as far as antiheroes go. She is positively misanthropic, but she loves her job to death, despite it involving day upon day of countless interactions with children and families—a mandatory smile glued to her face. She’s good at it, too. In fact, even her rival and “unofficial” supervisor Liz, has to concede that Maeve, along with her best friend Kate (as the ice princess’s royal sister), garners more positive feedback from visitors than any other princess in the park.

 
Read more on What Sleeps Beneath!

Thanks to Tor Nightfire for an eARC of Maeve Fly in exchange for an unbiased review. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Blood, Sexual violence, Death, Gore, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Cursing, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, and Grief

Minor: Terminal illness, Rape, and Toxic relationship