Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova

66 reviews

za_hra's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

A book which teaches us that you cannot bring back the dead or replaced the ones that you’ve lost. Not matter how much you love someone you also cannot change who they are. The first two sections written from the POV of Magos and Lena I didn’t enjoy as much as the final two from Joe and M’s POV. I found Magos unlikeable and almost child like in her narration.

Lena, I wasn’t sure what the point was about her not being able to sleep but Joe I understood and despite his willing ignorance of who M really was, I didn't find it as frustrating as Magos' delusion of who M really was.

M’s section was the best. Despite demonstrably being a monster he doesn’t feel like one and you want him to be free. At some points the story felt rushed like the plot was being progressed quite significantly in a matter of sentences but for a debut novel it's good. Would've given 4 stars had the first two sections been more enjoyable for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Gore, Sexual content, Grief, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Terminal illness, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual assault

magicmikel's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Sexual content

Moderate: Child death

rmperezpadilla's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Gore, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Grief

Moderate: Religious bigotry and Death of parent

glitterhobbit's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

I loved the concept but not the execution. Every other page was either someone having sex or drinking. No veins of hope and no focus on grief at all. Just gruesome. Disappointed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Gore

fermentedsorcerer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content

mcrespo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.25

i really loved the way that córdova explored themes of loss and love in this novel. the desperate attempts to cling on to something that is no longer there, and the way that the grieving party and the person that they've projected their grief onto all suffer as a consequence of not being able to let go was really moving and emotional. this book felt less like a horror novel, and more emotional and heavy. unfortunately, i thought that with the narration changes, there were such huge jumps in the novel that felt understated or perhaps not as well fleshed out as i would have liked. overall, i just wanted more from this novel. i craved more character development, more accountability, more communication, and much more healing, and i left not completely satisfied. i just yearned for more, but perhaps the meaning lies in the absence of all of this. i still think that this book is a wonderful pick, but it could have been so much stronger if there was more character development and reflection.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Sexual content, and Violence

nostalgicloaf's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Sexual content

kirstinlwx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Monstrilio did not disappoint. 
A reflection of the way that grief can be a feral and living thing - growing and changing, shrinking and morphing, sometimes recognizable and “manageable” while other times bringing shock and pain to those around you, all depending on the bearer and their processing. I couldn’t put it down. 
This debut novel was gripping, but it was inconsistently paced in a way that impacted how I connected to each of the main characters, especially outside of their POV section. The different perspectives were all incredibly unique and viscerally illustrative, leaving me with strong feelings about all of the main characters including Uncle Luke and Peter. The different POVs changed how I saw each character, showing how the internal and external perspectives of a person can be so different, and key to the whole picture of that person. 
I felt a slight disconnect and lack of fulfillment from the story by the end of the book, keeping me from rating it 5 ⭐️, while simultaneously being another great metaphor for grief and how it feels to “move on”.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Blood, and Grief

Monster,

mutilation

puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement, Drug use, Excrement, and Vomit

coryyalva's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

3.75

There is so much to be said about this book that I do not even know where to begin.

While Monstrilio didn't take me on the journey I expected it to, it did fill me with endless emotions as it touched on love, loss, grief, and labels and expectations. This book spoke to me in a way I had not expected it to.

(Please look up the trigger warnings first, but....) go read Monstrilio!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Medical content, and Abandonment

Minor: Drug use