Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

293 reviews

mald626'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
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Vomit, Alcoholism, Violence, and Pedophilia

breezy17's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

this book is a fantasy horror centered around a loose re-telling of a grimm brothers' fairy tale that i had never heard of, and i explicitly chose not to look it up to avoid any potential spoilers or bias going into the story. this book was highly recommended and i see why. the magic and plot in the story are dark and compelling, yes, but the heart of the novel is about how trauma shapes each of us, in how we view ourselves, interact with our loved ones, and move in the wider world. i usually am not a fan of the re-done fairy tale genre but this was very good. it did at times feel like a fairy tale, but one in which the characters actually felt like real, flawed, beautiful people, and my heart broke over and over for the main character. i devoured this book in a couple days and i'm glad i did. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Emotional abuse

whitney7's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark

5.0

😦

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Murder, Vomit, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Body horror, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual violence

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Pedophilia, Child abuse, and Antisemitism

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

uninvestedreader's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Cannibalism, Self harm, Gaslighting, and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Murder, Vomit, Xenophobia, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcohol

mothmania's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Pedophilia, Body horror, Cannibalism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Blood, Self harm, Sexual content, Death, Murder, Vomit, and Animal death

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

no_one_important's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.25

I really enjoyed the book even though it was quite dark and different from what I would usually read. I loved the fairy tale aspects of it and how Marlinchen used them to understand the world. Even though there wasn't much action, I still found myself unable to stop reading at times, and I kept wanting to read more. This book in my option is well written. At times I  felt like I was in Marlinchen's head. Hearing her thoughts, smelling the food, and feeling what she felt. Other times I felt like an outsider intruding on her story, but too invested to look away.  The only bad things I can say are the I feel there was a bit too much of Marlinchen and Sevas. I wish there was more about her mother and their life while she was still alive. I also would have liked to read a bit more about Undline and Rose because they also suffered their fathers abuse but that wasn't really talked about. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Medical trauma, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Vomit, and Self harm

Moderate: Rape, Pedophilia, Animal death, and Xenophobia

Minor: Incest, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

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

annalese's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Cannibalism, Self harm, Child abuse, Xenophobia, Blood, Body horror, and Rape