Reviews with content warning for Vomit - Maeve Fly

Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

sofipitch's review

dark medium-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

4.75

I feel like it's been a while since I've read a (new not reread) stay up late reading book. I read the last half of this book all in one sitting. This book was both fun and well written. The prose serves this book and it's tone so well. I really didn't click with Mosfeugh for example and this book somehow doesn't manage to be insufferable like some other "feminist serial killer"/femcel lit. I think a big part of it is something the narrator points out herself, women are expected to have a tragic backstory. This book is only feminist in that it allows the MC to take the same serial killer role only afforded to men. But she doesn't kill due to an injustice done to her. She isn't richteous, he is just as despicable as the rest of them, which was refreshing. It also strikes a good balance of still making her interesting while she is awful, which sets it apart from a lot of extreme lit where the loadstone is that shock/disgust/horror reaction, but it doesn't have much else going for it. Again, so well written.
Definitely had some horrific parts but sometimes I felt like the author was a little frugal with descriptions. I also saw someone say the last 1/3rd was pure gore but also not really. Not the book's fault but in case anyone reads this before reading the book you will feel less let down bc that was how I felt. But I will be reading more by this author holy shit. I might feel inclined to give it 5 stars but I don't want to have to see the cover when it pops up in that display section lmao

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mswarning's review against another edition

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dark fast-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

4.25

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avkeenan's review

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dark tense slow-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

2.0

I’m…. Not sure why I finished this. The concept of this book sounded intriguing, a murderous Elsa from our favorite theme park, but it wasn’t well executed. This book was trying to be like a female, LA version of American Psycho. However. It got a little too weird and the gore was gratuitous. Also hated how hard the story was to follow when Maeve’s memories would jump around in time.

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biobeetle's review against another edition

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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

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katizwitchy's review

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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? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

WOWIE. Wow.
My first thought after finishing this was "I need to walk this off."

Man, what a novel. If you have the stomach to read this, please do. Yes, it is awful and grotesque at times, but oh my god it is also ART. Women being horrible, complex, violent beings in the way men have been allowed to be for years is a perspective I didn't know I needed. The scariest thing about this novel is how easily you can find yourself agreeing with Maeve, seeing the line of thinking, right up until the brutal reality hits you full force and you feel the weight of shame and disgust for ever even slightly agreeing with her.

I cannot put into words how this novel affects me, other than saying that I will be thinking about it for a very long time. Where the R-rated scenes started to lose me, Leede would hook me back in with a beautiful piece of prose about grief, identity, and the depravedness and inherent evil that exists in simply being human. This book makes you confront the parts of yourself that are a bad person, even when you're nowhere near Maeve's level of bad person.

I didn't like American Psycho the film, mostly because it gave me anxiety from all of the violence against women, but switching the narrative and confronting our gendered understanding of violence made me approach with curiosity instead of fear and disgust. And I think that's what I'm left with. I have so many questions I'd love to ask the author, and lots to think about in terms of how I approach typical horror media.

If you don't have a stomach for some of the things I've described here, or aren't ready to confront darker shades of humanity than you deal with in your day-to-day, then don't read this. There were definitely parts that made me viscerally uncomfortable, as all good horror should have. But there were also very poignant commentaries on the idea of what makes an idol, what separates good and bad in a person, and what lies in between.

I don't know that I could pick up this book again. And, in my opinion, that's what makes a great psychological horror story.

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whatkatyread87's review

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dark funny informative tense fast-paced

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

4.0

It’s almost as if someone looked at Patrick Bateman, and then said “Hold my Fucking Beer”.

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paperbackbookies's review

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dark tense fast-paced

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

4.75

While this book made me absolutely sick to my stomach it kept me on my toes, coming back chapter after chapter.

Maeve is a complex and also seemingly predictable character and yet I couldn’t stop reading, waiting to see how she’d unknowingly ruin her life again and again, over and over, never getting a moment of peace because it’s not what she deserved. It was like a reward watching her life fall into ruin after all she did and all she’s ever done.

I would’ve given this book a 5 stars if it wasn’t for the constant mention of SA (and then the ACTUAL SA). The part in the book where Maeve sexually assaults a young woman made me absolutely sick to my stomach and I did stop reading for a while after that. The scene was completely unnecessary and the way they glazed over it made me beyond angry.

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heathclifff's review against another edition

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dark sad 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

2.5

surprisingly better (and less gory) than i was expecting, but still overall very flat.

like obviously the character is supposed to be unlikeable and a sociopath but i’m not sure the excessive SA was necessary.

i just didn’t really feel anything about it. promising from half way but it just fell flat and the twist at the end wasn’t particularly surprising compared to how maeve was reacting on the screen.

interesting female descent into madness, i guess, and study of generational violence/trauma, idk..

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