Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

118 reviews

ashleyrunswild's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

jesshart8's review

adventurous 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse and Blood

Minor: Gun violence, Physical abuse, and Trafficking

ofbooksandechos's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

Minor: Gun violence, Trafficking, and Fire/Fire injury

trickphoenix's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Trafficking, Car accident, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Fire/Fire injury

missindyrose's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Violence

Moderate: Death, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse and Pregnancy

mlfey's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Cannibalism, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infertility, Rape, and Sexism

upperjackpain's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Violence, and Abandonment

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Torture

keen's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child abuse, Gun violence, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

sarah984's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

1.0

If you remember that era in the early 2000s where everyone was making zombie media but it wasn't really cool anymore, so they were all sort of ashamed about it and like, "well MY creatures aren't zombies because they [one random gimmick; it's a fungus or whatever]," even though they totally are zombies - this is that but with vampires.

Even at the end I was totally unclear on how book eating was supposed to work. The characters' homes are full of intact books and they have fangs so I assumed they drained the book's "essence" or something, but later a character is putting ketchup on one, or soaking it in water to make it easier to eat. Book eating is always sort of elided, which is kind of funny because mind eating (a sort of mutation that some book eaters have that requires them to eat brains) is so vividly described on multiple occasions.

The characters all sound the same and half the book is characters describing events that have already happened to each other, so there isn't much suspense until right at the end. There is one problem that hangs over the characters for most of the runtime but then is IMMEDIATELY solved the second it actually comes up, which felt kind of pointless.

The romance is terrible; the characters barely talk and suddenly the kid is calling them girlfriends. This woman is the only one the main character really interacts with, which is sort of weird for a book billing itself as feminist. She looks at most other women with either pity or scorn. There is an extremely weird chapter where characters quote the dictionary definition of asexuality at each other that ends up being almost insulting, and the "I ruined a baby with my son's Autism Beam" bit was ridiculous.

I have no idea what the book was trying to say: parental love can be self destructive? Fairy tales destroy the imagination? The author really likes Tomb Raider and needs to make sure we know it?

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death and Car accident

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.75

the book eaters is a gripping, dark, somewhat disturbing, and imaginative book w/ a good execution - if slightly rushed end - but it's above all a reverse fairytale of sorts that details how a princess changes as a consequence of all the trials she's gone through.

it's a trip to witness devon evolving from a sheltered, naive child unbeknownst of the world's dangerous reality to a harrowed woman who makes tough choices and willing to do anything to protect her child. how the world and the system oppresses and commodifies her, and how she grows into herself to game and turn against them. 

what i like most abt the book is its worldbuilding, how dean takes advantage of the 'eating books' idea oft fantasized by book lovers and turns it into this dark, gripping, yet understandable story propelled by its own rules, culture, politics and machinations that mirror the real world in many aspects. how it could be hiding in plain sight is intriguing as well, and i rly am fascinated yet disturbed reading it. moreover, while the novel can turn very dark w/ its concept of mind eaters, much of the violence and gore feel true and never gratuitous.

it's a lil weird though how the 'present' takes place in such a short period and oft gets overshadowed by devon's more interesting past; only when the crew reaches the ravenscars' manor that things truly pick up in the present. furthermore, a few parts is predictable and the climax feels rushed, cutting off when neither devon nor the reader has had time to fully process things. a sequel seems certain though and im interested to see how things develop w/ devon's hopeful rescue of salem.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Death of parent