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kshertz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Moderate: Trafficking, Child abuse, Murder, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Sexual assault, Body horror, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Abandonment, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Torture, and Animal cruelty
lolaslalaland's review against another edition
3.0
I think the writing was good and the concept was interesting (if a bit violent and dark, but it is a horror fantasy afterall). It's a retelling of Lewis Caroll's "Alice in Wonderland", if you hadn't guessed, and in this retelling everything fucking sucks. Alice starts off in a mental institution because when she came back from her 'adventure' she was talking crazy about everything she saw, but also she couldn't quite remember the whole thing, like pieces of her memories were missing. All she knew was that she was abused, and somehow survived.
If you are sensitive to certain content I would definitely look up some content warnings. I'm not great at pointing them all out, but I can one-hundred percent tell you that rape is at the top of this book's long list of warning signs. I think anyone who has read this book would agree that it points a big flashing neon sign on the cruelty and despicableness of abusers and how they always get away with it. Note that I don't say "men" as a general term for the abusers because we do have Hatcher, who I am fairly certain it supposed to be the Mad Hatter, and he very much rejects the normalization of violence toward women in this fantasy world that pretty obviously is a reflection of our own world in a very dark, sick and twisted way (well... it's not that twisted actually when I think about it.) For this alone, I think the book was incredibly powerful, but everything else was kind of average.
The plot moved along well, but it was pretty simplistic which is fine, I guess, the characters felt pretty one dimentional, and I didn't quite understand the setting or the magic. I think if this book had been a little longer and worked on more of the characters and world building it could've been truly amazing. Oh, and the ending was a bit disappointing...
This is also a series but I don't think I'll read the rest of them unless someone tells me that they are very much worth it.
Graphic: Death, Torture, Sexual violence, Body horror, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Gore, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Rape, Slavery, and Trafficking
carriethruplotlines's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual assault, Gore, Rape, Animal death, Death, Toxic friendship, Torture, Trafficking, and Forced institutionalization
madireads326's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Blood, Trafficking, Torture, and Grief
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Vomit and Sexism
hannaheliz's review
3.75
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Violence, and Trafficking
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, and Mental illness
Minor: Animal cruelty
anniquevvugt'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? No
2.5
The book is so gruesome that often I got actually sick from how specific things were described
The writing however is great and the ending sentence was enjoyable. Thus a 2.5 star.
Graphic: Trafficking, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Cannibalism, Blood, Rape, Murder, Torture, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Body horror
queerloras'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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Murder, Toxic friendship, Torture, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Blood, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Sexual violence, Rape, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
samcsmith's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Moderate: Child death, Physical abuse, Stalking, Confinement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Trafficking, Violence, Rape, Cannibalism, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, and Sexual violence
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit
ancarlina's review
Graphic: Blood, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Body horror, Child abuse, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Gore, Murder, and Sexual violence
jclayton's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Cannibalism, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Rape, Murder, Trafficking, Torture, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Gore, Body horror, and Classism
Minor: Emotional abuse