Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Maeve Fly by CJ Leede

200 reviews

erin_mae9797's review

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challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

3.0

I feel kinda all over the place with this book. It felt really weird throughout the first half. Maeve talks a lot about her hatred of people but specifically her disgust for men. But then her initial two victims are women? I guess I could understand why
Hilda
gets the boot but I really didn't feel like
Claire's torture thing
was necessary. Also I really didn't like the fact that a lot of the more sexually violent methods of torture seemed to mostly happen to her female victims. Again, I just don't see how that aligns with her other beliefs or added much to the story.

Near the last 75 pages is where I was enjoying the story most. Once she finally breaks, the level of violence is so outlandish that it becomes fun. Whereas the violence in the first half of the book feels like it is teetering the line of being serious and being weird, the last section goes full throttle on the gore and absurdity. Maeve using
real human ears on a pair of mickey mouse ears
was so funny. Also the descriptions, specifically relating to the outcome of
the band and Dereck
were the perfect amount of stomach turning and cathartic gore for me. 

Weird mixed feelings on this one...was hoping to like it more than I actually did, so I guess I'll leave it at a 3  ╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭ 
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fei_chan's review

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3.75

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chill_book_reviews's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad 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

3.5

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sydneyema's review

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dark tense 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? Yes

4.0

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trashynucleus's review

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challenging dark emotional 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

2.75

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riothomemakrrr's review

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dark mysterious 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

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huntland's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

2.0

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gabtheprotag's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was my favorite read of last year. Maeve is such a complicated character that often leaves you questioning your own sanity for empathizing with her. Peak weird girl fiction. This one took me on a rollercoaster of emotions: fear, excitement, even sadness. Must read. 
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marinerbovig's review

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dark 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

2.0

Half a psychological study of the mind of a Disney Princess and half baby’s first splatterpunk, this was almost a really fun read for me. The glaring discrepancy that legitimately ruined the book for me was the use of sexual violence. There’s some pretty nasty stuff and it is exclusively done to women. And yeah, sure, at some point a dude’s you-know-what gets chopped up but it’s par for the course with his other appendages and not a real focus. When it comes to women, it’s used as a psychological and physical torture tool and far more horrifying than cutting anything up could be. Unbelievably disappointing from a wannabe feminist novel written by a woman.


Could have been good, I would have loved it if it wasn’t for the disparate treatment of the female characters. The story wouldn’t have lost a thing if the sexual violence www traded for regular violence, or if that somehow is too big of an ask, if it was equal among genders.


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denee16's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense 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? It's complicated

2.25

I'll start by saying I actually really like CJ Leede's writing. Her word choice, vivid descriptions, well constructed characters (despite the insanity) was truly impressive. 
The amount of times I had to pause and process the insanity that I read was too many to count. I'm awful with gore descriptions, if you are too, this isn't the book for you. It was, to say the least, a LOT.
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