Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Leech

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

charlatte_lee's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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kmartbooks's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

5.0

Equal parts delightful and horrific. I ate this up until it got really difficult to read and even then, I couldn't move on without finishing it but also dreaded it. That creeping, anxious dread is exactly where you want a gothic horror story to be, though.

I'll be thinking about this one for a good long while.

This will not be for everyone but dang, was it for me. Seriously, I fully understand if you don't think that this deserves five stars, but I think it deserves one million stars.

I am absolutely obsessed with this but it will not be for everyone. Anyone who likes slow, creeping horror and doesn't mind some medical jargin, disturbing and graphic body horror, and an incredibly subtle world building with mostly unlikeable characters will devour this. I listen to most audiobooks at 2x+ speeds, but this has almost always been at 1.5x at the most because I am hanging onto every word as the narrator talks directly to me. And also the narrator is a parasite. I am going to make this book my entire personality. What's more is that the narrator is a trans woman, the main character is agender, and the author is non-binary. I'm horrified and cannot look away and I'm delighted with the slowly meandering tension that is translating to deeply uncomfortable and unraveling mental states. Horror done exceptionally right.

I'm obsessed. And I never want to read it again. And I want to read it again immediately.

I hope this helps and/or makes sense to someone.

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krhanson68's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

1.0

Very dark story. Complicated story with convoluted plot.

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thecriticalreader's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

Context:

I added Leech by Hiron Ennes to my TBR after hearing Kayla from BooksandLala recommend it. I borrowed it from my library through the Libby app.

Review:

I approached Leech with some trepidation based on the reviews I’ve encountered. However, I am immensely impressed by the book’s originality—in fact, Leech is one of the most unique books I’ve ever read. I mean that as a compliment. Ennes crafts a world completely unlike anything I’ve ever read before with the precision of a surgeon. Everything feels deliberate and focused, from the French-inspired dialect spoken by some of the characters to the peculiarities of the setting. They use this specific setting and cast of characters to explore parasitism in many different forms, from the supernatural to the everyday. I am also impressed with the book’s writing style, which is powerful and effective without being flowery.

Despite my fascination with the world and my appreciation for Ennes’s writing, I did find myself somewhat reluctant to pick up the book at times. The book does not provide a strong “hook” for the reader to latch onto, either narratively or through its characters. Even well into the book, it is unclear which characters, if any, deserve our sympathy. Additionally, the narrative style of the book is inherently confusing due to the protagonist’s situation (I’m being intentionally vague here to avoid spoilers), and the murky positions of the side characters. If you’re looking for a book that prioritizes clarity and accessibility, you might want to look elsewhere.

There are a couple of other minor aspects of this book that didn’t quite work for me. The first is that it uses two characters that are twins in a very stereotypical and dehumanizing manner common to horror books that, in my opinion, did not add much to the story. The second is that the ending appears to abandon the character journey of the protagonist for another character; I would have liked a little bit more closure for the protagonist.

Leech will not be for everyone, but I loved its thematic explorations, writing style, and unique premise and worldbuilding. These elements were strong enough to overcome some problems I had with the narrative.

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