Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

49 reviews

re_leyendo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Drug use, Gore, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Car accident

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Gaslighting

Minor: Biphobia

decie's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

honestly a little bit offended nobody told me about this book. dark academia that isn't pretentious? contemporary and historical storylines that are beautifully woven together? a witty, self-aware narrator? sapphic characters EVERYWHERE in a book clearly written FOR sapphics? yes pls. it's sharp, fast, and kept me up at night. so. fucking. good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Grief, Murder, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Hate crime, Sexual assault, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, and Pregnancy

momster2010's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

I enjoyed this book once the pace started to pick up after the first quarter or so. However some of the main characters just weren't likeable at any point in the book to me. While they did redeem themselves somewhat more could have been done to sell that. It could have had a more solidified ending. Also a bit more mystery would not have hurt anyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

bedtimesandbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Alcoholism, Child death, Drug use, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

maryellen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault and Lesbophobia

Minor: Sexual content

somelibrarychick's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Drug use, and Suicide

Minor: Alcoholism, Body horror, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

snowydaze's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing and Death

Moderate: Car accident

Minor: Drug use, Fatphobia, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol

lisa_m's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

This book was unlike anything I have read before. I was bored sometimes and sometimes I didn't know what exactly the author was trying to do but all in all I did really enjoy it. I think if you want to read this book you have to like the creepy vibes it has. It is not a horror of creepy book at all but it does have a few creepy aspects throughout the book. It is creepy but also just a lot of talking and descriptions of film production, meetings and just day to day activities.. 

I think the only way to enjoy this book is to just take the time and not expect anything to happen. It will take you on a ride through different times, perspectives, stories and deaths.

This book was definitely weird. In a good way but still quite strange..

And also suuuper queer! Like pretty much every important character was a queer woman. I enjoyed that but it got to a point where it was a bit ridiculous (but also it fitted into the story perfectly and made total sense)

My favourite thing about this book is the formatting. I love the different fonts and especially the footnotes! (I love to see footnotes in books)
Also the illustrations are amazing! The yellow jackets were so cool and gave the book that extra something.

The narration was interesting but I did really enjoy it. It felt like a weird friend writing down a story for you and also like some Jane Austen esc writing. 

My biggest problem was the length of the book. Especially in the middle it got quite boring and I wanted to quit a couple of times. Also the ending confused me. I mean it is a kind of open end and you can keep thinking about it which is cool..?
I don't think the book could have been shorter and still be the same. The whole feeling came from the whole mixture of it all. Still I get that this is definitely not for everyone.

There are also so many different perspectives. There are quite a lot of jumps between time and people. Also it's kind of about a movie about a book about a legend about a book.

I would say reading this is definitely an experience - and one you have to want. If you want to read a very sapphic book that is also a bit spooky and has some great illustrations: this is the book for you. Be warned though as it is very slow paced and it has a LOT of unanswered questions at the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

barefootbetsy's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

Very fun book to read! It’s long, but not longer than it needs to be and I quite enjoyed the meta-story style. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Torture, Violence, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, and Fire/Fire injury

lolajh's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

Very cool plot and the integration of fantasy themes into a modern setting, set with an unreliable narrator and FOOTNOTES. Back and forth time skipping with so many sapphic characters, a heap of them lesbians and I think I spotted a few butch lesbians too. 

In the past timeline, a boarding school is deemed cursed after two young girls (they were lesbians too) went into the woods and were mauled to death by yellowjackets and seemingly spreading a curse of insanity and hallucinations that are driving people mad. Every single character’s backstory is explored, which I love, and the imagery in the horror scenes are so visual (I love that). 

Then in the future, or present, timeline, three sapphic actors, one lesbian, one bisexual, and one not labelled that I think is quite lesbian-coded. These girls are all starring in a film about the history of the same boarding school and playing the lesbians at the beginning who died first from it as well as a depiction of their romance. Whilst these actors are working through the movie the curse set on the surreal events recorded to happen at the boarding school begin happening to them, so the mystery of the curse is found out by the reader and them at the same time as they discover it for themselves.

During this, the trio gradually fall in love, with all three of them, perfectly sorting out the jealousy that occurred when two of the people were romantically involved and one is left out. The time they all come together and romance all three of them is when their relationship really comes together.

Such a sick concept without the romance being the main plot of the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy