Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Maeve Fly by CJ Leede

8 reviews

anatomicalpuppet's review

challenging dark funny 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Abortion, and Suicide attempt

clovetra's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

5.0

to think i put off reading this so many times, and wasn’t going to read it at all. thank you universe for having me read this because my GOD was this stellar.

i cannot describe just how much of a good time i had with this.

• the ambiguous references to disney????? SOLD. especially in that final scene with liz, i literally burst out laughing oh my god
• the bus scene too??? holy shit??!?
• the gore in this book in general!!!! oh my god was it spectacular. i think this is my favourite book in terms of how the gore was written because my god. it teeters the line between unrealistic and entertaining so well
• maeve herself. insane. witty. somehow relatable. i love her.
• gideon too. he is amazing, i love him, i want to be him, i want to be maeve with him. Yeah.
• there was no plot to this book and i didn’t care. maeve captured my attention so well i didn’t care at one point i was just following her life. 
• the writing. is so. good. oh my god.
• the ending????? i started crying. i started crying at the ending because i loved this book so much holy shit

if you love horror, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD READ THIS. i don’t even think i have the words to describe why i adored this so much oh my GODDDDDDDD.

anyways, ill never be able to watch frozen with my niece again. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Excrement, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

Minor: Suicide and Medical content

biobeetle's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Excrement, and Murder

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Vomit, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty and Suicide

hconnellyal's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and Torture

Moderate: Gore, Blood, Vomit, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Suicide

trashgobby's review

dark reflective tense fast-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Mental illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Body shaming, Cursing, Misogyny, Suicide, Vomit, and Classism

keen's review

• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicide and Cannibalism

emelynreads's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Psycho meets Dexter meets American Psycho in this countdown to Halloween female rage death spiral.

My stomach is feeling pretty weak after reading through/imagining some of the horror scenes. I'm not a fan of smut so that affected my rating. I didn't mind the numerous homages to other horror classics as some other reviewers have pointed out. I was bothered by the sky being described as 'bruised' every time it's mentioned. I enjoyed the "dark passenger" inner monologues and the character interactions and motivations felt to me like the show Dexter.

Bonus points for the author creating Spotify playlists from the songs mentioned.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Suicide and Vomit

autumnleafgirl's review

dark funny 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

Release Date: June 6, 2023
Genre: Extreme Horror
Themes: Quarter life crisis, killer women, extreme gore, slasher, the entertainment biz

The titular Maeve Fly is a 27-year-old on the brink of her quarter-life crisis: Her coworker and best friend is on the edge of stardom, her kindred-spirit grandmother is dying, and someone is leaving strange dolls at Maeve's favorite haunts in Hollywood. In the days leading up to Halloween night, we watch as Maeve slowly - and then all at once - loses the tight grip that holds her life together and gives into the extreme violence that sleeps fitfully within her.

Here's the thing, though: Maeve might be depressed, disgusting, and deranged but she's also somehow, some way, kind of likeable. Her morbid investment in every little thing in her quickly collapsing world, from the wellbeing of her grandmother's cat to the theme park princess job she unironically loves, is tenderized by her snide humor and endless supply of Halloween music trivia. She's not detached or unemotional - if anything, her big feelings about everything seem to be the thing she hates about herself the most. And frankly, all of that just makes what she does to express those feelings even more squirm- inducing to read about.

While only around 250 pages, this novel still manages to pack a very greasy, gorey punch with Maeve's explicitly visceral descent into madness. Gross from beginning to end with a significant portion of the book essentially a montage of graphic violence, this book isn't for the faint of heart, the faint of stomach, or the early horror reader. Instead, it's perfect for readers who thought Mona Awad's "Bunny" or Ottessa Moshfegh's "Eileen" didn't go far enough and should have been set in the glam and grime of LA. Think long and hard, then wait two hours after eating before dipping your toe in this pool.

The verdict: As nauseated as I still am an hour after finishing up this book, there's an excellent chance that Maeve Fly will top my horror list at the end of the year. I know exactly the horror fiend friends I'll recommend it to, and for those looking to fill a hypersexual murderess-shaped hole in their shelf, Maeve Fly will honestly soar.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for sending an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Misogyny, Suicide, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Dysphoria, and Classism