Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enríquez

8 reviews

nefarious_rat's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

collection of short stories so character progression and such is difficult, but within each story the characters were distinct and never felt rushed, some of the stories were not to my taste but still very well written, favourites are, our lady of the quarry, the well, the lookout (particularly the characterisation of elina), where are you dear heart (grotesque and delicious my absolute favourite i keep re-reading it), and meat (a very close second favourite for the exact same reasons)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Addiction, Suicide, Child death, Lesbophobia, Pedophilia, Transphobia, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Police brutality, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Blood, Abandonment, Cancer, Excrement, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual content, Torture, Body horror, Cannibalism, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Vomit, Grief, Hate crime, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Stalking, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Infidelity, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Outing, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Biphobia, Cancer, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Confinement

anouk_adriana's review

dark fast-paced

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

3.25

What the fuck

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Abortion, Addiction, Gore, Cannibalism, Trafficking, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death of parent, Medical content, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Chronic illness, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Vomit, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Suicide

starofash's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

okay so im not a horror lover or even enjoyer, but interestingly enough, i still really liked this book. 
i wasn't a big fan of the stories that were just violent and gore-y, but i loved the ones that had a more mentally disturbing vibe 
my absolute favorite story was "kids who come back"
other favorites were "the well", "the lookout", "no birthdays or baptisms" and strangely enough "meat"
i had to set the book down and think after "where are you, dear heart?". i couldn't continue reading

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Vomit, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Addiction, Alcohol, Confinement, Mental illness, Self harm, and Trafficking

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Abortion, and Blood

wenyd1's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

It's a disturbing book and some of them are really nasty in the wrong way. Abduction and childporn

toffishay's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

All of these stories are really affecting. The characters feel so real and the fear can be very intense, but in a way that is so matter of fact that makes it all the more terrifying. My favorite stories were "Angelita Unearthed", "The Well", "The Lookout", and "Where Are You, Dear Heart?" If you like Ottessa Moshfegh, Shirley Jackson, Kelly Link, or Amber Sparks but want a little more of a horror leaning, then I think you will find something to enjoy from this collection.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Child abuse, Cannibalism, Body horror, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Torture, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, and Grief

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Excrement, Murder, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Alcoholism

Minor: Xenophobia, Abortion, and Miscarriage

akira_outofthegravity's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I think this is a really interesting collection of short stories. They all have very common themes like female sexuality, witchcraft, smells (which I thought was particularly interesting), children/childhood, mass hysteria/fanaticism, and religion. 

While some stories are better than others, I think they’re all a good read! My top three are:
1. Where Are You, Dear Heart?
2. Meat
3. Kids Who Come Back
With a special mention to Angelita. 

I feel that perhaps a study guide of sorts would help understand the symbolism of the stories, but honestly they’re all really good and I enjoyed all of them to a degree. 

TRIGGER WARNING:
Be warned though: most stories contain some element of child abuse/pedophilia/forced incest/child prostitution/etc. 
“kids who come back” contains some transphobic and lesbophobic slurs/characteristics. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Grief, Miscarriage, Vomit, Pedophilia, Transphobia, Blood, Incest, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Violence, Trafficking, Abortion, Alcohol, Body horror, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

erin2802's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Self harm, Gore, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Excrement, Sexual content, Cursing, Death, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Abortion, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Vomit, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Addiction

nicnevin's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Short stories with a sinister edge, Enriquez writes of a vivid, dark modern world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cannibalism, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, and Vomit