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charlatte_lee'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: Death of parent, Body horror, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Gore, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Suicide
Moderate: Infertility
barf_mobile's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Sexual harassment, Medical trauma, and Domestic abuse
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
chezler24'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? It's complicated
5.0
(I should have finished this book a week ago, but headaches and a busy schedule halted me. If I wasn't hindered by those two things I would have absolutely torn through this book quicker than my timeline shows.)
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Gore
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic and Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcohol, Dysphoria, Suicide, and Sexual harassment
krisalexcole's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
1.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Medical content, Pregnancy, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Murder, Gun violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Child death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Death
maimy_santiago99's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
A nice twist on the latest trend in Gothic horror, I found some of the more esoteric bits of world building a bit too puzzling to be creepy. I think the normally of people with their organs outside their bodies and with mechanical replacements, for example, could have been established as being completely ordinary and not unusual a bit earlier, though I don't know how without it becoming tedious and ruining that lovely opening. The mysteries abound and few are explored, though, and that pulled me out of the story a bit as things continued to tangle but very few threads came loose.
The queerness in the story is simultaneously entirely incidental and completely pervasive- a character with he/him pronouns who lactates and acted as a wet nurse presented and seen as just another person rather than a trans person or a genetic anomaly (I assume the former, but in the world of the novel it could easily be the latter), the androgyny of the narrator for the first half of the book, the almost neglectful acceptance of physical differences... It's clear that in this world, queerness of any stripe isn't a huge deal to anyone who doesn't desperately want heirs, to the point where it is ubiquitous and almost blasé in its presentation, but it still feels revolutionary in the world we live in.
The twins were a highlight for me, and I'd happily have read a version of this novel that centered on them instead of the doctor/narrator (which is not to say I didn't enjoy this version!)
All in all, an enjoyable debut. I'll keep an eye out for their sophomore effort.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Medical trauma, and Medical content
Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Blood
Minor: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Confinement
lanid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Gun violence, Medical content, Genocide, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual harassment, Torture, and Infidelity
readmeup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content
Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Violence, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness
Minor: Suicide and Vomit
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
Stillbirthmissbrookss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Graphic: Violence, Sexual harassment, Murder, Body horror, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Gore, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, and Child death