Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Gideon z Dziewiątego by Tamsyn Muir

101 reviews

sigrids's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

This book really had me happy for killing lesbians, bc I couldn't stand what I assume was to be the main couple. Also from the start it took very long for me to actually enjoy this one. But by the end I was hooked and now I have to start the second part. 

Also I love how useless the main character is in face of any women she sees. Very relatable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Violence, Death, Toxic friendship, Blood, Toxic relationship, Bullying, and Murder

Moderate: Slavery, Suicide, Child abuse, Death of parent, Child death, and Grief

Minor: Genocide, Infertility, and Emotional abuse

bree_h_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? No

2.75

As well-written and funny as I found this book, I also can’t deny that it disappointed me.

I personally found the writing style very unique and enjoyed it a lot. I thought the narration was funny and it really suited the main character’s personality. It felt modern, but not in a way that was poorly executed. I’ve read books set in the modern day that didn’t even come close to using modern slang/terms as well as this did. The use of language was also expertly used to convey descriptions of spaces and people.

I also really liked all the characters, they all felt very distinct from each other and well rounded. When allowed to be in smaller groups with Gideon it was so clear who was who and why they might act the way they do. However when in groups it felt more like they blended together and I quickly lost track of who was who. The narrator did help some with this, but I did still occasionally still mix them up. With the  distinctness of the characters it also lends well to interesting and complex group dynamics and conflicts.

I also really enjoyed early in the book when Gideon wasn’t speaking. It’s not a slight against the character, I just found the way she navigated interacting with others (and how they interacted with her in return) extremely interesting.

The narrator was also excellent. I felt like she really captured the main character and her voice acting ability really shone through with the large cast of characters.

However despite all I liked about the book it had its pitfalls.

I personally found what world building we got was really interesting, but it was giving so sparingly and in such little doses I found myself confused and lost on the regular. Some bits of information were mentioned like they were common knowledge and I had a hard time keeping track of if and when the information had been mentioned.

The confusion continued into plot beats and elements. Especially near the end of the book. Information was presented and treated as if it had been hinted at the entire book when it felt very sudden and out of nowhere.

My final issue was Gideon and Harrow’s relationship. They grew closer over the book, but considering where their relationship started (and that Harrow OWNED Gideon) it didn’t feel warned or well developed. Especially as it seemed to be building towards romance. It felt so gross considering Harrow’s ownership of Gideon and the awful terms they started the book on. Overall it was the most disappointing part of the book to me.

In the end I think the book had a lot of positive qualities and the author is clearly skilled, but in the end just fell short and was lacking in plot and relationship development.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Self harm, Slavery, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Violence, Blood, Cursing, and Death

Moderate: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Cancer, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Child death, Child abuse, and Death of parent

kodi_rae's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I’ve often heard this book summed up as “lesbian space necromancers” and I love how it gets to the point but leaves so much to the imagination. This was a really fun and unique read. The world building is deep and the reader gets dropped right into the action, leaving a lot to be leaned and figured out as you go. Because of that, it took me a bit of time to feel like I really understood what was going on. I read a physical copy of the book which had a list of the houses and all the cast of characters that I referenced constantly and was very helpful. The back had a glossary and also descriptions for how to pronounce some of the names. I *almost* wish I had read it first but I might have still felt a little lost so maybe it wouldn’t have helped much anyway.

I think my one critique is that it moved so fast that the way the relationship between the two main characters fluctuates over time did not feel totally believable to me. But I will still read the other books in the series because it was so interesting and fun. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Chronic illness, Gore, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Child death, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Cursing

readingwithcoffee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

3.5

Quick review: this book was so much fun but it takes the completely wrong lessons form action animes. To the point many things were contradictory, cliche or predictable when you know Muir is capable of much more if she pushed herself or even reread and noticed she got ahead of herself and didn’t always keep track of characters or why a location change in a fight makes sense. 

Muir’s character dynamics and character multidimensional and the way she writes women so central though is incredible. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Toxic friendship, Infertility, Body horror, Cursing, Gore, Death of parent, Cannibalism, Bullying, Suicide, War, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, Child death, Death, Blood, Cancer, and Body shaming

amyteurhour's review against another edition

Content warning: violence/gore, enslavement, emotional and physical abuse, hints at unequal power dynamic re: romantic relationships

Even after getting through 3 hours of the audiobook, I was only 18% of the way through and could not see myself enjoying the next 13+ hours left. The beginning drops you into the story with little explanation or context, just that Gideon has been trapped in this prison/house her whole life and she is attempting her, what she hopes to be, final attempt at escape. She gets beaten and tricked into staying by the ruler of the house, Harrow, and then coerced into participating in a scheme with Harrow.

I ultimately stopped because I got the feeling that Gideon and Harrow would be the romantic arc that's mentioned in the synopsis, and honestly I'm not here for it. Harrow's treatment of Gideon is gross and cruel, and I just don't see myself rooting for/being satisfied with a storyline where they are in a relationship.

Stopped at Act 2 - Chapter 9 (3:04:15)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, and Slavery

nefariousbee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

read it for the third time, it just doesn't get old. each time I find something new, something I missed, something I can appreciate more with knowing more from other books or fan theories. it's hard to get into it once you do... I haven't read a more impactful book series. there is just so much depth to everything. we could study this thing for entire semesters and never run out of stuff to talk about.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Cancer, Gore, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Vomit, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore, Cancer, Cursing, Murder, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Bullying, Chronic illness, Infertility, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Violence, and Emotional abuse

iane_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Medical content, Murder, Slavery, Torture, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Death, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, and Child death

Moderate: Classism, Death of parent, Mental illness, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Hate crime, Miscarriage, Dementia, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Pandemic/Epidemic, and War

celestriakle's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.75

Man, not gonna lie, I had a complicated experience with this book. It had been hyped to death for me: I went in expecting the highest quality writing, a deep and subtle complex plot, really fascinating complex characters and relationships, and I got... not that.

The whole book could have used another round of editing. Stylistically, it comes off as rough and amateur. There are moments where the motions are awkward and confusing, and I cannot tell you how many times I saw the word "smilingly". The dialogue is at times stilted and awkward, with inconsistent character voice for Gideon in particular.

A consistent issue is the way the narration and dialogue are in conflict with each other. I understand that Gideon's supposed to be a somewhat unreliable narrator, but that's not really the conflict I'm talking about. Particularly in the beginning of the book, Harrow and Gideon supposedly hate each other passionately, but I never believed that for a moment. They kept saying the words, but it never matched what was on the page, even when they were in direct conflict and supposedly feeling all this hate. It felt awkward and out of sync. There were also a lot of moments when characters or the narration would call Gideon incredibly stupid when she's constantly offering intelligent, insightful ideas or observations. It'd be one thing if someone acknowledged Gideon's intelligence, among this very large cast, but that never happens.

I also can't write this without mentioning the INCREDIBLE levels of fatphobia in this book. In this book of nearly 20 characters, there's only one minor character who's fat, and he's one of the worst, most offensive fat caricatures I've seen in a long time. If he played any larger of a role, I would have had to quit the book. Muir can't go two seconds without mentioning his "softness" or fatness and directly connecting it to his cowardice, laziness, and hatred of hard work. At one point, he's directly compared to a donut.

ALL THAT SAID.

I did enjoy the book overall. Taken as more of a YA style adventure narrative, it's a lot of fun! It's a murder mystery. The magic's neat; the characters aren't that deep but they are distinctive and memorable and fun; the mystery is fun and intriguing with multiple angles and questions to sink your teeth into. It's an easy read. Once I readjusted my expectations, it was a lot of fun.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Fatphobia, Gore, Grief, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Self harm, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Child abuse

Minor: Child death

atomicrobin's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Child death, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Abandonment

scifi_rat's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Grief, Body horror, Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Torture, Cursing, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death of parent, Murder, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Medical content, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Vomit, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting