Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

318 reviews

novelnourishmentofficial's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The best way I can describe Juniper & Thorn is that it reads sort of like a Studio Ghibli movie, but not in a good way.

After briefly DNF-ing this book, I decided to give it another go. Trying to come up with a rating has been a little difficult.

I acknowledge that sadly this book does not align with my personal preferences and I find myself in a peculiar position, as I have a profound appreciation for this book due to its thematic depth and literary merits. The intense heavy content and violence within the narrative pose a challenge for me.

This enthralling narrative portrayed unsettling events with a poetic elegance that rendered them strangely beautiful. It was the allure of these unconventional metaphors that kept me captivated and intrigued, prompting my imagination to embark on a wild journey while reading.

I urge everyone to take note of the trigger warnings prior to diving into this book. Based on the positive reviews I’ve seen, it hadn’t occurred to me to check them. Child SA, body horror, disorder eating, trauma, self harm, pedo….to name a few.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

ceciliet's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Gore, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Cannibalism

domigaia's review against another edition

While the prose ease beautiful, and this was so well written, I just didn’t have the stomach for this, the  body horror and gore-riness. I tried to skim read some of those parts but I couldn’t hack it.

If you are into dark books then I highly recommend but READ THE TWS. I was sad it was too intense because  she wrote and explored trauma in such a creative way, the fear that was installed in the main character got installed in ME, and just the writing itself is SO lush. If I finished it had 5 star read potential.

I look forward to reading some of Ava Reid’s less intense books.

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Content Warnings

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

amyreadstoomuch10's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Eating disorder, Gore, Sexual assault, and Alcohol

aliceruthmyles's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Vomit, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

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

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

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

Moderate: Sexual violence

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

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, Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

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

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

Minor: Alcohol