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dominosmum444's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
brittybcl's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Murder
welgan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I enjoyed all the imagery and metaphors about surgery and body gore because I could really feel the special interest of the main character, and also it fit very well in the narrative, I could feel the despair and rage to control one's own body, and the adequacy of the imagery with the horrors happening.
I also appreciated that there was hope and comfort to be found in kinship - this person is like me, I can be myself and true and safe with them. It helped going through a story with such hard events.
Be warned if you're a sensitive person though : beyond the horrors that would happen to a person perceived as a girl who is not complying to society's standards, and to a trans person, in a Victorian era, the writing also invite quite a gore imagery. It fits very well, but if you're bothered by body and wounds imagery, it will probably be hard to read for you. There are also a lot of sensitive topics touched, so please look at the warnings if you're unsure. I felt the book did a great job exploring the topics without too much voyeurism, but the subjects are here nonetheless.
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Self harm, and Medical trauma
Minor: Homophobia, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and War
kerryem's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Transphobia, Medical content, and Abortion
Moderate: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria
marcostorin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Rape, and Colonisation
andrea_lachance's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really wanted to like this book, but I had really high expectations and it just didn’t meet them. Don’t get me wrong, AJW is a great writer! I just found the plot pretty predictable (as an adult) and I didn’t really understand the magic system.
HOWEVER, I find Silas an extremely interesting protagonist and I loved reading from his perspective on transness. That was 5/5 for me. This is the second book I’ve read by a trans author with a trans MC and I found Silas’ perspective much more informative and compelling.
Truly, stellar character work happening with Silas, Daphne, and Mary.
And I will be reading Hell Followed With Us and Compound Fracture as soon as it comes out.
Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Transphobia, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy
There’s and extremely graphic (and long) medical abortion and that was CRAZY to readvixbrekker'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Sexual assault
breadbummer'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
4.75
- Trans protagonist (written by a trans author) ✅
- Murder mystery ✅
- Set in the Victorian era ✅
- Upfront trigger warnings ✅
- VENGEANCE!!!! (no bs about forgiveness) ✅
I cannot recommend this novel enough!! As I said, though, please note the HEFTY list of content warnings before jumping in. White makes sure to cover the big hitters like anti-transness and ableism, but it should also be noted that
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Miscarriage, Rape, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, and Colonisation
Minor: Animal death, Genocide, Infertility, Sexual content, and Terminal illness
There was no specific option for animal dissections or something close enough to it listed here, so I thought I'd make note of it. Everything that is done to animals in this book is post-mortem, though it's still graphic.fallandfox's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The author made me feel so absolved in the history and Silas mind, it was an incredible sensation.
Silas was an amazing main character, his fight for freedom in the middle of all the cruelty and prejudice. There were so many moments in with, I wanted to get in the book and hug and help him.
I recommend this reading a lot, this was a book filled with pain, fight and strength of people trying to survive a cruel society ready to use and destroy them.
Graphic: Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
madamenovelist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Sexual abuse of minors is a theme throughout this book. All the topics are very heavy but sexual abuse and gore are very prominent.