Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

246 reviews

saccharinewoe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

"i have to keep my boyhood safe. i have to keep it hidden, deep in my chest where nobody else can have it."

as someone that is afab and struggles with their identity/presentation, this book was deeply painful at times because of how real it is but that's exactly why it's so so important and so needed. to see i'm not alone in how i feel is so comforting yet so terribly sad to think about. to think i still live in a country that perpetuates the archaic norms that are rife in this and that i, too, have to find ways to survive like silas did. the way misogyny is targetted towards anyone with even a proximity to womanhood... god it's the most horrifying thing in this book. i can't speak for the autistic experience that is laid out with so much heart in this but i know that this, too, was so so needed. but also on a less serious note, i fuck so heavily with the medical horror, murder mystery and historical and paranormal aspects of this lol. the writing was so gripping that i found it physically difficult to put down... there were so many elements lovingly crafted into this and they worked so well together. this was really fantastic and i'll be thinking about it for a long time. i'm really glad this exists and comes from a voice that understands.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Abortion, Ableism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Transphobia and Sexual harassment

marcostorin's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious 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? N/A

5.0

I already planned to give this book 5 stars, but when I reached the ending of the book, I was literally putting my phone (where I read it) down multiple times because I just couldn't believe the twists I was reading, and I mean it as an absolute compliment. They were perfectly done and absolutely in character and believable and yes, they still had me shocked. The epilogue was the sweetest and realest ending this book could have had. I loved the previous book this author did and, seeing as two out of two books by them have been some of the best reads I've encountered lately, I'm absolutely following whatever they put out next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Sexism, Blood, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Child death, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Abortion, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Transphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Colonisation, and Bullying

andrea_lachance's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• 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

Womp-womp :/

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Physical abuse, Medical content, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Transphobia, Medical trauma, and Gore

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Ableism, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Misogyny

There’s and extremely graphic (and long) medical abortion and that was CRAZY to read

vixbrekker's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Ableism, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, Abortion, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content

Moderate: Sexual assault

cruggington's review

challenging dark sad 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Blood, and Child death

Moderate: Outing, Hate crime, Murder, Deadnaming, and Transphobia

breadbummer's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.75

It's been maybe five years since the last time I remember being so engrossed with a book! For once, I'm so glad I judged a book by its cover (it's a pretty neat cover), as The Spirit Bares Its Teeth has just about everything I could want from a story.

• 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

abortion

(among many other things) has its very graphic moment.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, Abortion, Sexism, Self harm, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Death, Deadnaming, Adult/minor relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Blood, Child death, Body horror, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical content, Transphobia, and Ableism

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Miscarriage, Lesbophobia, Rape, Colonisation, and Vomit

Minor: Infertility, Animal death, Genocide, 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.

madamenovelist's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Hate crime, Torture, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Blood, Lesbophobia, Pedophilia, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Confinement, Body horror, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Transphobia, Sexual violence, Grief, Gore, Child death, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Abortion, Ableism, Death, Violence, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse

Sexual abuse of minors is a theme throughout this book. All the topics are very heavy but sexual abuse and gore are very prominent.

reinynights's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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: Child death, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Dysphoria, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Child abuse, Transphobia, Sexual violence, Sexism, Murder, Violence, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy

Minor: Death of parent

infinite_helix's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

Disturbing, wonderful, horrible, haunting, gorgeous, gory, loving, hateful, angry, wretched, joyful kinship.
The desperation and fear is palpable, and I could not put this down. I would get so sucked in the world around me fell away and got replaced by the cold, dark, clinical and cruel halls of Braxton. I was cringing from phantom pains, recoiling in disgust, clenching the book in fervor.

And yet, somehow, in all the horror, I had such intense joy and satisfaction. This is the second book I've read with an explicitly autistic protagonist, and there was SO MUCH of my experiences and feelings in Silas that it was heartbreaking and cathartic in turn.
The way Silas crumples to the ground, overwhelmed and screaming and crying, upon realizing Daphne is there and real and his mirror and an ally and safe port in this madness was how I felt reading this book. Andrew Joseph White dug his authorial fingers into the brackish and bloody part of my soul with this book.
It was painful and perfect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Child abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Confinement, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Transphobia, Violence, Gaslighting, Bullying, Death, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

This book does not hold back on the horrors committed willfully and frequently to those deemed 'other' in Victorian England. It also doesn't shy away from what those surviving under such violent oppression will do to themselves and others to continue to survive or escape.

armenag's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Abortion, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, and Torture

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Child abuse, and Gaslighting