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dixiecarroll's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
mktaylor15's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
emilyfedewa's review against another edition
5.0
Ava Reid is a genius writer!!! her prose blew me away (even though there were perhaps too many similes lol). I liked the way that sex was handled in this book, especially since it was explored from the perspective of consensual sex and non-consensual sex. neither was sensationalized which I thought was great. that also leads into my next point of this never feeling like trauma porn. I think books like this, with so many horrific things happening to the characters, have a potential to glorify that trauma, but I don't think Ava Reid did that here at all. all the characters were also very complex and interesting. overall I am so so impressed and I'm looking forward to reading more of her work!!
Graphic: Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Vomit, Blood, Sexual assault, Rape, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Eating disorder
pencil_case's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Rape, Body horror, Death, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
Minor: Vomit
ferrot_lectorapromedio's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Cannibalism, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Murder, Blood, Gore, Medical trauma, Racism, Physical abuse, Self harm, Vomit, Body horror, and Pedophilia
Minor: Alcoholism
shay_books's review against another edition
Graphic: Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
readwithria's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Vomit
Moderate: Death, Antisemitism, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Incest, Self harm, Pedophilia, Cannibalism, and Animal death
year23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
There's also an amorality here that I couldn't quite grasp. It's a fairy tale - so even if it's a bleak takeaway, there's still that "ah ha" moment that didn't happen here for me. Maybe that's going too far though in my critique - and more of a reflection of what I want from a book (which has nothing to do with what the author wants to write and share!). This one walks a very fine line that I think could have been really powerful in exploring trauma and its impact given the MC's toxic (massive understatement) family and environment and instead, due to lack of plot and characterization, falls flat/rings hollow.
A note - by amorality, I am NOT referring to the growing sexuality of the MC and how that shows up in the text. This was rather tame compared to other romance books I've read, even some YA books. Yes - words like nipples and boobs are said way more than even in your typical romance (more a writing thing than a too-scintillating thing) but to me, it felt like a key part of the MC's character's connection to their sexuality and a site of pain & awakening so that tracked. Did it read like YA? Yes - and that would be more my issue with it - it didn't feel like an adult fantasy at all apart from the horror elements, but even how those were written felt YA. Again - that's not a bad thing - but I'm not sure that's what the author was attempting.
I would recommend this to very specific people who I know are into these vibes, as the vibes are strong but there is no plot here, the most one dimensional of characters across the board, and I think failed in telling a story about living in a traumatic family situation.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Self harm, Body horror, Body shaming, Murder, and Incest
ale24's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Gore, Violence, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Antisemitism, Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Death of parent, Incest, Sexism, Cannibalism, Classism, and Rape
maxinesf's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Vomit, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse