Reviews tagging 'Gore'

The Surface Breaks by Louise O'Neill

5 reviews

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

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dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-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

4.0


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jenmachin_'s review

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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danajoy's review

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dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5


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persphones's review

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dark sad slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This is a dark/feminist retelling of the little mermaid.

From the get go, you can see how patriarchal and sexist the mermaid society is. It might be a bit too on the nose, but still, it works and it's a good critique.

The instalove trope is obviously there - it's the little mermaid, guys - and while a bit annoying, you can see some underlying tones that things will go wrong in the future for our protagonist. 

Gaia (our Ariel) is a young girl who is in love with a pretty dude she has never met. That said, it can be kind of annoying, but that is kind of the point of the story.

I liked the construction of the mermaid society, but I do think the writing could have been a bit better. Again, a bit too on the nose for me, all the plot twists a bit too obvious and the foreshadowings were not that subtle. 

I did like the book - I like retellings, especially dark ones, and I love the little mermaid original story. This one is as brutal and painful (and gorey, if that's not something you're into!) as the original.

But I Think Elana K Arnold's dark retellings set a standard too high for me to truly love this book.

Some CW for the book are rape, gore, violence.

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autumnal_daydreams's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Would have rather read the sea witches life story as she's the only feminist character.
 
This is a book that hits you over the head with inequality without having to do any of the heavy lifting. It has no time for nuance or developing deep characters or fully realising feminist themes.

If you love exposition dumps, being told rather then shown and black & white plots then feel free to read. 

The author is inspired by the Bloody Chamber and I would urge you to pick up Angela Carter's work instead. 

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