Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

Maeve Fly by CJ Leede

43 reviews

trashynucleus's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cannibalism, Stalking, Abortion, and Alcohol

anjnryn's review

challenging dark 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

I liked the idea of character and thought she had potential to be a unique protagonist. The writing is what mostly turned me off though. This book also leans into the romance aspect which I wasn’t expecting and didn’t like for a “horror” novel. The erotica was not my taste (in that I don’t really like reading horror/torture erotica). The initial shock of a few erotic scenes like this in the beginning of the book felt gimmicky to me and took away from the actual horror when it picked up.

This author is credited as being a new entrance to feminist horror lit, but I didn’t find any feminist angles in this book other than the main character was a female psychopath. Another review I read noted the incredible amount of groping by this character which I have to say was notable. The character also tries to liken herself to Elsa and keeps trying to emphasize how different Elsa is from other princesses and it got tiring and reeked of insecurity from the author and character. Other feminist angles were also pushed, such as being dominant sexually, taking back control, and channeling her grandmother, but they were lost for me in the writing and honestly erratic storytelling. 

Ultimately, while this was a hugely character-driven story, there was no big growth or revelation in my opinion and the change in the characters persona was predictable and frankly underwhelming. Paired with the fact that the character was written to be an insufferable narcissist, the lack of redeeming qualities made it more difficult for me to enjoy reading about her. In fact, the secondary characters were much more interesting to think about but the book was about this one person.  There is also a heavy leaning on the grandmother but it doesn’t really add anything much to the story overall, other than maybe her grandmother was like her (or rather, she is like her grandmother).

Despite all this, the book is quite a fast read. The second half seemed really rushed and the first half I guess was meant to be some psychological thing but it really fell flat. The second half of the book, where the horror aspects pick up, is easy to get through which is really what got me through to the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual violence, Violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use and Excrement

fictionalfabrication's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

5.0

There was one point in this book that physically brought me to my knees in the middle of my work day. It was vile and disgusting and brutal and beautiful. I've never been so horrified and enamored in my life.

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Content Warnings

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

selendrea's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.5

I have a bone to pick with whoever decided to market this novel as "feminist" literature. Is the feminism in the room with us??

Maeve Fly has a lot to appreciate within its covers. Its antiheroine is unique and and deliciously depraved, and Maeve's descriptions of Los Angeles' ethos are interesting and thought-provoking. The contrast between working as Disney princess but moonlighting as a psychopath is a wonderfully macabre idea for a book. Too bad this book goes virtually nowhere with that idea.

Leede is talented at writing prose, point blank. She uses words like a skillful dance, constructing sentences that provoke emotion and vivid imagery. I was impressed by how well-written some of the paragraphs were. Unfortunately, at times, it felt over written, as if the author was trying too hard to come across as intellectual. Some run-on sentences started to drag on, requiring me to re-read them a handful of times to fully process their meaning. Additionally, the repetitive use of the wolf/monkey metaphor was more cringey than it was impactful or artistic.

On that note, the tone of this novel is the flavor of pseudo-intellectual that I would have loved as a teenager, and that's not a compliment. Maeve is insufferable. I could forgive an unlikeable protagonist if they have other redeeming qualities, if their flaws are making a statement, or if their character development goes anywhere. Instead, Maeve remains generally one-note, and spends her time belittling other women for their interests and motivations. I got the sense that Maeve took herself vastly too seriously while also being a bona-fide Disney adult with a Halloween fetish. Competing with other women over men's attention, purposefully making people - especially other women - uncomfortable, sexually assaulting multiple people, and viewing yourself as better than them for your "unique" tastes is not feminist - it's internalized misogyny to its core. I was hoping that Leede would expand on the metaphor of women having to put on a costume to survive in society, like Maeve dons the Elsa costume, but this connection is mostly left unspoken.

Moreover, finding yourself through a man is not feminist. Maeve does this both by

getting closer to Gideon, which helps to awaken this "wolf" inside of her, as well as being inspired by Patrick Bateman and literally copying one of his murders.

The driver of her character development is not herself, is not her grandmother. It is primarily the influence of men.

Despite this novel's long list of content warnings, I found it to be particularly devoid of the gory, action packed scenes it needed to really solidify itself in the horror genre. I didn't hate the ending, but felt it was that same overused trope of

the protagonist overreacting instead of communicating with their love interest.

Perhaps my expectations were too high, but Maeve Fly is an example of such wasted potential that I find to be incredibly disappointing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Excrement and Vomit

welsh_witch's review

I loved this from the first sentence, and I read about 3/4 of it, but Maeve got too disgusting and disturbing for me and I put it down, intending to DNF it. But I kept thinking about it… Had to go back and finish it off. Unfortunately, I’m not sure the ending

(starting with the drugging, torture, and murder of Andre and Liz, which is where I tapped out)

was as good as the rest of the book. Anyway, not for the faint of heart.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Terminal illness, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, and Alcohol

Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Excrement

sam_pocketrockbooks's review

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No

3.0

I am of two minds about this book. The horror of it is captivating and sick, but I'm not sure what to ultimately think beyond the shock factor. I will probably return to review more after I think on it 🤔

Disney Adult x Hockey Player disguised with a extreme gore and erotic focus.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

theld17's review

dark slow-paced

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

3.5

That was a wild ride of Maeve's decent into madness as her world crumbles around her. It's compelling and disturbing at the same time, and definitely not for the faint of heart or squimish. This book mixes old Hollywood glamor with classic horror flick to make the Frankensteins monster of a book. While the prose may be off-putting to some as it's a bit long winded and Maeve has a superiority complex, it makes the book seem so much more surreal. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty, Racism, Excrement, and Vomit

mercuryretrobae's review

challenging dark emotional 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

baileylayish's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Excrement, Grief, and Murder

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. 

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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