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liltakeawaygirl's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Infertility, Violence, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Suicide
Moderate: Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Animal death, Infidelity, Blood, Bullying, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Misogyny
Minor: Colonisation, Grief, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Child death, and Vomit
athenian_frog'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
3.25
BUT think there’s some really interesting reflection from the perspective of such a complex organism that Hiron Ennes includes! That and the character of Émile in general were highlights. The story went in a direction I was really not expecting—in a good way—and the ending was pretty rewarding.
Some of the ideas that strengthen the conclusion that I found in the book—like the value of one’s bodily autonomy—could have been better weaved throughout the book but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
PLEASE READ the content warnings below. Thanks! <3
Moderate: Medical content, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Violence, Vomit, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
-the baron’s family (whose mansion is where the majority of the book takes place) generally holds pretty misogynistic beliefs of a woman’s role in the family, specifically that they are “responsible” for having children/a son in particular -a female character has a history of miscarrying, makes one or two dark jokes about it -descriptions of medical procedures that might upset readers including: several instances of needle insertion in various places, sedated/paralyzed patients during a procedure, often without consent, the removal of a parasite fragment from the optic nerve post mortem, descriptions of childbirth - suicide is examined as a possible and very plausible reason that a character dies (via scalpel to the throat) -In the latter half of the book it is implied that a character ends up in an emotionally abusive relationship with a member of the barony. The sex they have (very vague) reads very much as coercive/non consensual because of the power the barony holds over the rest of the people living in the chateau. There are moments of physical abuse as well. - at least two characters vomit, and a couple more have something crawl out of their mouthcadence99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Child death, Alcoholism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Gore, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Ableism, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Self harm, Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Medical content
ribbenkast's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.75
However the books suffers a bit from the gothic pitfall where in the first half it's just vibes and nothing much really happens. The pace really picks up near the ending though! Admittedly I do think the book ends on a bit of a weak note. I think there's space for a sequel I'll gladly pick up if it ever gets published.
All in all, this was a great debut. I'll be certainly be on the lookout for any books that Hiron Ennes writes in the future.
Graphic: Pregnancy, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Body horror, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Ableism, Xenophobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Classism, Chronic illness, Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Rape
velvet_young's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Physical abuse and Sexual assault
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Miscarriage, Suicide, Pregnancy, Vomit, Classism, Gun violence, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, and Drug use
vellumveela's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Classism, Infertility, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, Death, Medical content, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, and Ableism
Minor: Abandonment, Suicide, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, and Drug use
harpybuns's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Rape, Blood, Body horror, Medical content, Child death, Child abuse, Death, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Infertility
Minor: Animal cruelty, Grief, Vomit, and Gun violence
ohsunnyaa's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Body horror
Moderate: Rape and Child death
Minor: Misogyny
thayerbowen's review against another edition
2.5
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Blood, Death, Gore, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Miscarriage
thehmkane's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Animal death, Colonisation, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Medical content, Child death, Bullying, Chronic illness, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Grief, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
Stillbirth