Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

36 reviews

terpsichore1674's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This time jumping, atmospheric, romantic sprawl of a horror (?) novel upends convention -- much like its rotating cast of plain, bad heroines. Though it lags in some places and races breakneck (Readers, I used that word for a reason!) through others, it somehow all works. Except for the ending. Which doesn't NOT work, it's just ...

It feels rushed and missing context, like a Scooby Doo villain reveal during the historical portion and a little too pat and tidy in the modern day scenes.

That being said, the characters are richly drawn, the scares aren't too scary, the plot is built like a Matryoshka  doll, and the narrative rides like a vintage Jaguar.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Minor: Pregnancy

achillea's review against another edition

dark lighthearted slow-paced

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

Please don't get your eyebrows pierced with rings I'm begging you

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, and Sexual content

Moderate: Homophobia and Vomit

Minor: Biphobia, Fatphobia, Stalking, and Murder

mar's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

i usually get frustrated with audiobooks longer than ~8 hours, but I listened to the 19.5h of this one no problem and enjoyed it!! it's slow, but also really captivating and does a great job of building up the tension and creepiness, though it's sadly a little lacking in payoff in the end - I found the ends of both narratives a little abrupt and unsatisfying in different ways (genuinely finished it and went huh. more people should've died :/ or at least get traumatized a little more :/ FJDKGNKF) but overall I did have fun. the characters are compelling, if not always likeable, and the snarky omniscient narrator is excellent. in conclusion i love messy horror sapphics

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Vomit, and Grief

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

stillreadingat4am's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Death

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Vomit

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

katherinevarga's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

There were many things about this book I absolutely loved, including

-Hollywood & rich people on social media satire
-dark academia / queer girls at boarding school at turn of the century
-wordplay, footnotes, and illustrations
-a "Truly Devious" trilogy (jumping between past and present; quirky characters) meets "Dawson's Creek Halloween specials" (meta-awareness, clear love of horror movies) vibe
-examination of how social media / constant surveillance impacts our ability to distinguish reality from artifice; what it means "to be rather than to seem"

This was such a blast to read, although ultimately I'm not sure what to take away from it plot-wise. It's a great book to read for atmosphere and voice; less so if you want a clear narrative with a satisfying conclusion. Many lesbian characters die which gave me pause at first ("why am i reading about girls being attacked by yellowjackets during a pandemic and fascist insurrection?") but once I accepted that as part of the horror aesthetic I was able to enjoy this as spooky weird escapism.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Drug use, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Blood

Minor: Sexual assault

aubreyhi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Sexual content