Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

32 reviews

sistersula's review against another edition

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

5.0


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siobhanward's review against another edition

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

3.5

This has been on my TBR long enough that I fully forgot what this was about, so it was a fun surprise to read it and find out. This book had a really solid premise but I wish the execution had been stronger. The cursed boarding school, the Hollywood chaos, there was so much good stuff in the book, but it went on for too long. I liked the characters and the story well enough, but it felt like there was a lot of filler. I really liked the modern day plot, and the 1902 plot was a good idea, but it felt muddled. Too much was happening and there was no real focus.

Anyway, all that being said, Danforth is incredibly creative and I look forward to reading more from her down the road. 

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gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

1.0


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celery's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious slow-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

4.0


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ferns_citruscorner_8's review against another edition

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

3.75

I have such a love and hate relationship with this book. I love the writing style and the language, by God, I truly do. I’m also amazed at this book for being my first book with polyamorous characters in it! I’m personally aroace and find it at times very discomforting (a lot of horny-ness), but loved the ending! Sometimes, one of the characters get so fecken annoying and edge-lordy, but I’m glad I decided on reading through. I’d recommend this to people who like long books with hella queerness in it. 

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pjdotcom's review against another edition

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dark funny lighthearted mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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sauvageloup's review against another edition

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

3.0

glad to have read this, because the concept is fresh and interesting, and I need to read more wholly sapphic books. but it tried to do too much and didnt pull it off.
this review on tumblr by flying-elliska has all my thoughts well said:
https://www.tumblr.com/flying-elliska/672822130083233792/and-now-for-sapphic-reads-time-the-sequel-tm?source=share

pros:
- the setting was a fleshed out character in itself and I loved that. the orchard apples, the tower, the orangerie, the beach, etc.
- I liked the story of the original woman, simone, who lived on the land.
- some imagery was definitely creepy and disturbing, especially eating wasps.
- the main characters were interesting, and I liked that they became a poly triad rather than a love triangle.

cons:
- too many characters, too much rambling, too meta, too plotty and just too long.
- I never really got truly creeped out. it just didnt sink deep enough into that and there wasnt enough real danger. the deaths were distant and over fast. didnt feel that sad at any of them.
- more interesting to see more flo and Clara for sure.

a different read for sure and I'm glad I read it, but disappointing and a bit slow too.

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lili_geek's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

3.5

Story plot: the impact of cursed land over generations, with the focus of the storyline on queer women. 

Pros: unreliable narrative, the progression of the curse, difficulty identifying what is manufactured and what is real. 

Cons: the narration of the story often came across as preaching and annoying, constant POV shifting. 

My overall vibe about this book is idk. While I read it and after I finished it, I still don’t know what I think about this book or if I like or don’t like this book.

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uhhlexiconic's review against another edition

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

2.0

More akin to a textbook than a novel, and perhaps twice as long as it needs to be, Plain Bad Heroines pulls every ounce of tension out of its material and and dilutes some of its stronger attributes.

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carrots02's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

i will be thinking about this book for a long time. it’s delightfully eerie and weird and sapphic! i borrowed it from the library and before i got halfway through i ordered it from my local bookstore. 

the characters are fascinating. the story is rich with history and gory details. i adore how self referential it is and that it’s truly a mystery!

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