Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

59 reviews

sydapel's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

2.75

I really love Ava Reid's writing voice, it feels so lyrical and darkly alluring that you can't help but be sucked in, no matter how disturbing and dark the story gets. So while I did read this very fast, I don't think the overall plot structure or character development is done all that well. Marlinchen has these frustrating fits and starts of character development throughout the book that fail to carry weight after a while. The love story feels underdeveloped and childish, while other more interesting elements (the sister dynamic of the characters) needed far more time spent with it. Like I said, Ava Reid is one of the most interesting new authors I've read and I'm excited for the rest of her work, but I don't think this one was quite ready. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Sexual assault, Rape, Pedophilia, Self harm, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, Racism, Drug use, and Eating disorder

jambuttyjones's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Toxic relationship

_annika__'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Violence, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Addiction, Body horror, Confinement, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse

kyradannalee's review

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Vomit, Mental illness, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Sexual content, Racism, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Blood, Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Cannibalism, Body horror, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Violence, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Colonisation and Classism

Minor: Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Medical content

x_l1v1ngd34db0y_x's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

This book was enthralling. It was a short read, and progresses quickly. I enjoyed the writing style but found some things quite repetitive. Breasts are mentioned in almost every chapter, and the same few phrases are repeated several times. Other than the pacing and weird obsession with breasts, I found this book engaging with a beautiful writing style and would recommend this to others that love a grim fairy tale. Check trigger warnings before reading as body horror tends to come up a lot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Sexual assault, Body horror, and Sexual content

Moderate: Misogyny, Cannibalism, Racism, Alcoholism, Grief, Body shaming, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, and Classism

gagereadsstuff's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Colonisation and Death of parent

theatrealpaca's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Confinement, Murder, Violence, Body horror, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Sexual content

karenreadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Murder, Violence, Vomit, Gaslighting, Body horror, Confinement, Gore, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Animal death and Death of parent

kllyholt's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Child abuse

ellynscoffee's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

This book is certainly not for the faint of heart. The label of dark is no exaggeration and this book is a brilliant example of a grim gothic horror that does not hold back.
The writing style and story telling were great, my only gripe was some of the slower pacing towards the middle, although this didn't last long.
The gore aspect of this story was probably the most uncomfortable for me to read, but it was easily skimmed over and did not feel unnecessary.
The ending is incredibly satisfying, however I did feel that the reveal of the mystery was a little rushed (but perhaps this is more because we see everything from Marlinchen's perspective).
Overall, I loved and really enjoyed this bleak, grim retelling

EDIT: It has been several days since I finished this book and I cannot stop thinking about it. I think I will have to fold and change this from my original 4/5 rating to a 5/5 because it really hit me harder than I thought.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Bullying, Murder, Cannibalism, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Vomit