Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

144 reviews

lukewarm_ravens's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

I felt like the book could have used another pass at editing. Up until the 3/4th mark, the pacing felt slow. That being said, I enjoyed it. I felt it's depiction of abuse was realistic and the ending was cathartic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Self harm, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Death, Cannibalism, Body horror, Blood, Xenophobia, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Misogyny

haylee_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

Oh goodness, this book was a wild ride. I think Reid wrote such a grotesque gothic horror with such beautiful prose. This is a retelling of The Juniper Tree, which I have not read before. This book is horrifying at times, but I could tell there was clear intention behind every single sentence. The story was harrowing and it had me on the edge of my seat. I really enjoyed the audiobook. I thought the setting was incredibly atmospheric and had so many layers. It’s hard for me to put my thoughts into words right now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Sexual assault, Vomit, Child abuse, Cannibalism, Antisemitism, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Incest, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Animal death, Death, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse

edamamebean's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

I was completely spellbound by this book from start to finish. When I wasn’t reading it, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It’s definitely not a perfect novel. Ava Reid’s prose teeters towards heavy-handedness (something inevitably gets compared to snakes like every five paragraphs) but somehow it still really did it for me. I figured out the mystery element almost immediately, but I kind of think you’re supposed to know or acknowledge what Marlinchen can’t. She, as a main character, is frustratingly naive but you still root for her. Her mentality around sex and virginity is rooted in purity culture in a way that I didn’t like at first, but as I thought about it more I came to accept that it stemmed from the toxic environment she was raised in and wasn’t an opinion of the author herself. At the end of the day, Marlinchen’s sexual awakening is what frees her, so I’ll forgive it. This book gets a 10/10 for vibes and I really recommend it if you’re looking for a dark fairytale but for the love of god, read the content warnings first. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Medical trauma, Animal death, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Blood, Eating disorder, Gore, Xenophobia, Vomit, Murder, Antisemitism, Body horror, Violence, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Medical content, Body shaming, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail

thimi_time's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Wow, this is an extremely emotional and also rather graphic book. Ava Reid really has no qualms about the length she goes to textually illustrate the scenes and plot - this is definitely not a bad thing, I found her imagery quite striking and it really is beautiful to read, but it can/will probably be off-putting to some readers. And some scenes…I was shocked and horrified, but I do think it’s important to show another way that people can be affected by

abuse

. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Gore, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Blood, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Gaslighting

bestiality

.

forgetmenaught's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Painful, surprising, horrifying. I love Ava Reid’s writing. She turns over rocks to show us the squirming creatures beneath. And somehow it all turns out poignantly beautiful. Gag-inducing yet hopeful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Vomit, Death, Murder, Gore, Violence, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Body horror, and Misogyny

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual violence

vanessa_books26's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Death, Classism, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Blood, and Animal death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, and Addiction

Minor: Racism and Racial slurs

peggyluwho's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Cannibalism, Body horror, Vomit, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Violence, Self harm, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Grief, Pedophilia, Murder, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Animal death

revolutiondeathsquad's review against another edition

This book was actually really really good, there was just content in here that I can’t handle reading about right now. I felt myself having a trauma response and decided to stop reading to protect my mental health. I still would recommend this book, just maybe not to people who are sensitive to abuse or sexual assault. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Animal death

jaustin4's review against another edition

I thought I would like it based off a tiktok that I had seen that praised it but this book was too gruesome for me. I had to stop reading after cannibalism was introduced. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Self harm, Cannibalism, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Murder, and Death of parent

illuminae's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Child abuse, Addiction, and Sexual violence