Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

98 reviews

libraryofmoss's review against another edition

dark 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

2.0

Allll the content warnings! This book is dark and grotesque. The prose is repetitive and I probably would have quit it except for the hope for some positive resolution of lil the awfulness.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

hprimo12's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

This book was supposed to be a gritty retelling of a fairytale, but the topics that made it "gritty" were not handled well and left me hating the main character. I did not find any part of the story compelling, and it pained me to finish it. I stongly do not recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Cannibalism, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

The "love" story part of this book was only really based on trauma bonding, as the characters frankly do not really spend much time together before being madly in love. Additionally, the story is seemingly centered on how much the main character is suffering at the hands of her sisters despite the fact that they are also being abused by her father. Granted they suffer a different kind of abuse, but the author and the main character make no mention of this at all. To the point where the main character kills one of her sister and shows no remorse. The last thing that I will say is that I found any LGBT+ representation to be layered in negative stereotypes or villainized. There are many other things that I could point out about the world or the overtly sexualized situations, but I don't want to give this book much more thought.

kiandrareadsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Self harm, Sexual assault, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

gimmiiie's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

tashasbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

4.0

This book has been described as a horror and gothic twist on the fairytale, the Juniper Tree. Going into this, I wasn't familiar with the story, so it mostly was a gothic fantasy to me.

It was very gory and gruesome, with deeply unsettling writing. There is a lot of sexualization in this book, so please check the trigger warnings for this and the violence. The prose however, is beautiful and I found it very engrossing to where I read this book in one sitting. It's interesting how the author can describe settings in a whimsical manner, whereas the subject matter of the book is very dark.

We follow Marlinchen, the youngest sister of a trio of witches who live with their father, the only wizard in Oblya left. Oblya is a city rapidly growing and the setting insinuates that it is going through its own Industrial Revolution, with many businesses and commercial industries moving into the city. According to Marlinchen, she is not the prettiest or smartest out of her sisters, and we learn as the story goes on that she is deeply insecure. All of the sisters live with their father, who is tyrannical and is under a horrible curse, which in turn leads him to treat them horribly and lock them within the house.

"You should know, of course, there are only two kinds of mothers in stories, and if you are a mother, you are either wicked or dead."

Marlinchen's sisters are not kind, and because of this she faces her own insecurities when comparing herself to them. She meets and becomes enamored with Sevas, the Principal ballet dancer when sneaking away into the city at night. It is a bit lust at first sight, but I do believe their interactions allowed Marlinchen to gain confidence in her own body and her decisions. 

I really enjoyed all of the characters and learning how Marlinchen sees them, as I do feel like there is a bit of an unreliable narrator aspect to this. One character I felt that wasn't fleshed out was Undine, but we don't spend as much time with her as her other sister Rose. There is a big plot twist towards the end, which if paying attention throughout the book, there were signs that made it all make sense at the end. I did enjoy the final ending and I do feel like this book just explores Marlinchen's development and growth so well. 

It is an uncomfortable read, especially with all of the hard topics it covers, with a main point being the abuse Marlinchen suffers, but the writing is beautiful and I very much enjoyed the plot and the ending. Definitely recommend, but make sure this book is the one for you and the headspace you are in.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, and Vomit

ninjatrombonist's review against another edition

dark sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Self harm, Xenophobia, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cannibalism

Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

maresuju's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Eating disorder, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

Minor: Rape and Xenophobia

x_l1v1ngd34db0y_x's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

4.0

This book was enthralling. It was a short read, and progresses quickly. I enjoyed the writing style but found some things quite repetitive. Breasts are mentioned in almost every chapter, and the same few phrases are repeated several times. Other than the pacing and weird obsession with breasts, I found this book engaging with a beautiful writing style and would recommend this to others that love a grim fairy tale. Check trigger warnings before reading as body horror tends to come up a lot. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, and Cannibalism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, and Classism

its_thekla's review against another edition

challenging dark tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

2.75

You ever read a book and just can't help but think 'just get to the point!'? That's this book. But the point is boobs. Boobs and body horror. 

Anyway, at best the story was long winded, at worse it was garrulous. It was creepy, I will give them that. But I'd someone were to ask me for a gothic fantasy rec, I can't imagine this making the list. 

Also, please check the trigger warnings! Can't stress that enough here.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Gaslighting

bookishvicky's review against another edition

4.75

So wonderfully weird and macabre!!! Literally couldn’t put it down. I love a book that gives me anxiety. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Rape, and Antisemitism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, and Vomit