Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Maeve Fly by CJ Leede

46 reviews

harshharmony's review against another edition

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

3.5

I can’t really tell how I feel about this book as it got extremely visceral in description and detail towards the end, and I was physically uncomfortable. The last book that made me want to stop reading due to what and how it described something was Almost Transparent Blue, soooo…

I don’t think I can ever recommend this book to someone, but I do wish I had someone to say “what the fuck?!” to regarding this book. 

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snerp_reads's review

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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

2.5

Stop marketing this as a feminist book please, I am BEGGING you.

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himynameismichael923's review

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dark funny slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was the exact book I needed at the moment. One full of horror movie references, and one that takes place largely, inside Disney’s California Adventure park. Yes our leading lady plays Elsa in DCA, and while names are never said, the author cleverly tells you exactly what you need to know. Maeve is a new favorite horror character for me. Spending time in her twisted mind, was equally heartbreaking, horny and horrifying. We get strong American Psycho vibes here, but a feminist version. All the characters, even the recurring background ones, are so thoughtfully fleshed out, and it really helps you dive into this psychotic world. CJ Leeds is an author I look forward to reading more of.

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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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annathechaoticreader's review

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

4.25


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clownrambles's review

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dark 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

3.0


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taylorgraves555'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

1.0


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madelinequinnee's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • 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

This was a pretty fun weird girl book, with some great classic horror references and a unique storyline. 

I personally wouldn’t describe it as ‘feminist horror’ like i’ve seen it described by other reviewers. Maeve is absolutely not a feminist character, she’s actually quite actively misogynistic at times and SAs a lot of her victims, so I think it’s very misleading to describe this book that way.

But apart from the misleading descriptions, i did enjoy this book. It was pretty campy at times, and very gory, and even though i think more could have been done with the gore and actual horror scenes, this is a pretty solid story. 

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macncheese_pdf's review

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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ruthypoo2's review against another edition

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

3.25

This is a well-written and interesting story with a unique and somewhat unbalanced protagonist with feminist-leaning sensibilities. While the flow of the storyline is pretty tight, at times it felt a little slow to me, but around 60-70% it became quite engaging.

The bottom line is that I don’t care for body horror or sexual content, especially when they’re combined. Even though the body horror and sexual content in this book are relatively mild and the author doesn’t go into a lot of detail, it was still, personally, more than I want to read. With that said, it works for the main character, Maeve Fly, and the story, just not for this reader.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Sosie Bacon. The personality and vocal inflections Ms. Bacon brought to all the characters fit perfectly, but I thought the huskiness of her voice took a little getting used to at the start.

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