Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

228 reviews

readwithria's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

Juniper & Thorn is a haunting and deeply disturbing book, and I enjoyed it a lot.

Marlinchen is such a complex character, and I love how she changes throughout the book. Sevas reminds me so much of how dance was both a great love of mine and also how it wrecked my body and my confidence for many years. There was so much truth in this book that really shook me to my core, and I would definitely recommend it.

That said, this book is fantasy horror and has quite a few potential triggers. Ava Reid has a list of content warnings on their Tumblr, and I highly encourage everyone to check them before reading this book. I have included them in the content warning section of this review as well.

Ava Reid has such poetic prose, and I love reading what she writes. I’ll definitely be reading more from them in the future. 4 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Vomit, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Eating disorder, Incest, Pedophilia, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

lynnw's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Pedophilia

bohboh's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

Reid handles the delicate topics of abuse and anorexia with careful respect and grace when telling this chilling gothic horror. She capitalizes well on romance and fantasy themes to draw interesting and distinct characters. I could not put this down once I started.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Vomit, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Minor: Pedophilia and Rape

morgangd's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-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

3.0

An intense tale of trauma in dark fairy tale mode, with every trigger warning under the sun and maybe, just maybe, actually too crass. But it did move me at parts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

paperbound_dreams's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

5.0

"My eldest sister was right; I would smile blithely if someone tried to saw off my leg. But no one had ever told me that I was allowed to scream."

Wow wow wow. Beautiful and horrific. The kind of book I never want to read again, but will stay with me just the same. 

Docked a star for lack of trigger warnings--there are many and they are intense, please be cautious with your mental health. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Vomit

nikeeeeee's review against another edition

dark slow-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

1.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Cannibalism

carolined314's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Dark fairy tale retelling with tons of trauma

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death of parent

purplesapphire's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

4.25

eeededeathxsexI enjoyed this one better than the wolf and the woodsman. She seems to be better at keeping to a more contained setting where it can become its own character, rather than trying to do a sprawling adventure epic. That seems to be a common consensus. Some common comments I see I do not agree with is the hate against the depictions of abuse and graphic content. Just say you don't understand and move on. Was it perfect? No. But that was a pretty good depiction of toxic relationships, emotional manipulation & abuse, physical/sexual abuse, etc. It shows the impact it can have on victims.

Also, yes it had near constant sexual undertones and some heavy handed depictions of positive and negative sexual interactions, but take away the magic aspect and this is just a story about overcoming abuse. I don't like all the slander against the way she depicted everything, because overall it was a good story and for all the horrible things that happen through it all the ending made up for it. 

The cannibalism was a little much for me but certainly fit into the narrative and the super dark tones that were rampant through the book. I liked the mystery and reveal about her father and herself being the monsters.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Vomit, and Death of parent

Minor: Pedophilia

cepbreed's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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

4.5

"People want to ruin things that are clean and new. It's no fun stamping through old dirty snow."

“You would rather me eat your heart than look away in disgust?” 
“Of course,” he breathed. “Every time.”

Ava Reid surprised me. Her detailed and atmospheric prose still hit the same sweet spots as in The Wolf and the Woodsman, but somehow Juniper & Thorn is vastly better. I'm trying desperately to pinpoint what exactly made her sophomore publication so much better and I'm not coming up with anything substantial. The characters were more compelling and I found myself falling for Sevas alongside Marlinchen. Parallelly, as she bloomed under his eye I found myself liking her more and more. Reid's worldbuilding was already impressive in The Wolf and the Woodsman, but she worked magic with an even smaller setting. Somehow constraining her descriptions to one estate (+occasional traipsing around the city) allowed her writing style to really shine. Everything flourished on the page and my immersion was heightened tenfold. Her attention to detail never fails to amaze. I'm not a dancer, but I know exactly what happens to professional dancers' feet, so her mentioning this feature of Sevas was wonderful to see. Oh my god, that exact scene was so UGH. Sevas embodies perfection, strength, and beauty. He exposed his shame to Marlinchen and she never once patronized him, only offering her unconditional acceptance no matter how stupid being insecure of your feet is when you're the principal dancer of a famous ballet.

I vanquish all reviews accusing this book of being "gross" or "overly sexualized." Those people just cannot understand how much Marlinchen means to the girls. To love someone/thing so much you need to consume it. To choose to put your head down and labor for the sake of others. To be pushed to your limits by that tolerance. If you've watched Yellowjackets you'll understand. She embodies girlhood. She is a woman forced to toil at the will of her father and thank him when he punishes her. She is looked down upon by those who are supposed to love her the most (her sisters) and still offers them only compliance. She got everything she deserved in the end and I completely stand behind her. Every woman has imagined that turning point, the one where they finally snap. Nothing was more satisfying to me than watching Marlinchen have that moment.

Ava Reid is the queen of Ethel Cain connoted books.

Songs: 

• Strangers - Ethel Cain 
• notre dame - Paris Paloma
• illicit affairs - Taylor Swift 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Mental illness, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Alcohol

Minor: Pedophilia

0ivy0's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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

4.0

Juniper and Thorn is a dark fairytale with romantic writing and heavy content matter. We follow one of three magical sisters who have been trapped in their decaying house by their tyrannical father. He makes his living selling his daughters' magical skills and tells them of the horrors of the world.

I would definitely suggest checking content warnings before reading as this is a very heavy book tackling SA (including CSA), EDs with purging behaviours and self harm which are all quite explicitly explored. I needed to take breaks whilst reading this to curl up into a ball and cry and had to skip over some scenes - I probably would not have read it if I'd checked in advance.

The book is written in first person following a main character who has been beaten down so much that she doesn't react, she fauns and then she hurts herself to regulate. 
This was a really difficult read but I also felt better having gone through it - having made space to emotionally regulate throughout.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail