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Reviews tagging 'Death'

A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

206 reviews

alenaecook's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • 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

4.25

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emmas_reads_'s review against another edition

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dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

wow. this book was long. but short (thank god for that)! Summers sure knows how to write pretentious, unlikeable, unstable characters. and that is exactly what dorothy daniels is.

dorothy daniels is a sex-loving, borderline women-hating, antisemetic, racist, lesbophobic, and classist food snob. this book is supposed to be about dorothy critiquing women’s role in society. she brings up how she thinks monogamy is boring, that she won’t have kids, that she refuses to marry, that men are useful for sex, food, and manipulation and that’s about it. it honestly felt like dorothy hated women who decided to decided to do all of these things with men - the amount of times i wrote “just say you hate women and go” is astonishing for a book critiquing women’s gender roles in society.

the feminism in this book is more outright and blatant instead of the subtle critique i was hoping for. this felt just like the barbie (albeit with a cannibalistic serial murderess) - feminism 101.

the writing is…something. the author often shows what is unnecessary (food descriptions) and tells what is (emma and dorothy’s friendship developments). representations, descriptions, and comparisons are made with one of two things: food or genitalia. it’s very offputting - not necessarily uncomfortable but i did think it got excessive. i think the pretentiousness of the writing fit with dorothy’s characterization though, so even if it was a slog to get through i appreciate it.

i did enjoy the cannibalism (of which i do wish there was more of) and murder though. it’s why i bought this book in the first place. that part definitely delivered, and for that i’m thankful. delightfully sickening!!
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erkkmoon's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I liked the descriptions of food more than the rest of the book, I think that says a lot, even though I'm a fan of horror and cannibalistic themes and was very excited in the beginning
like, it's a good book, i guess, but it's bad in various aspects and the writing style is not my cup of tea (“I tasted the bleach-and-umami flavour of his precum” what.)
interesting plot though?? idk, good but not that great
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obliteraturebygaytorayd's review against another edition

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

4.25

Dorothy is the true gore-mand. Never has prose been so simultaneously disgusting and delightful. I wanted to languish in this book longer than I could, like any good meal or raunchy rendezvous. Dorothy experiences character growth, but not an overwhelming amount, nor is the majority of the book centered around obvious growth. The characters, while different in personality and presentation, remain flat-footed from Dorothy’s viewpoint. Never do I feel an ounce of love for her former lovers, nor do I feel anguish at their delectable demises. Dorothy presents a satirical, non-conformative, rather muted radicalism, while remaining consistently informative regarding foodie culture and the subversive desires of cultural caricatures (I.e, the other characters).  
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xandrav's review against another edition

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dark reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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litpages3's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny informative sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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kharri13's review against another edition

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

4.0

Very good book. I think it was really good. Honestly conflicted on it being a 4 or a 3.75 I think it's just a little conflicting for me. The story was interesting and compelling and I think the thing that's stopping me from knowing for sure is figuring out how I feel about Emma and Dorothy. Cause for a psychopath she does seem to love a lot of people and that's tripping me up a little. But very good book and Dorothy definetly gave me the vibe of classic killer who thinks she's better and smarter than she really is. Also appreciate that we didn't see all of her lovers that she killed, at that point I think it would've been redundant and maybe a little greedy. All in all great book would and probably will read again. 
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carlomartinez__'s review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced
  • 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

5.0

Read the trigger warnings! Not for the squeamish, sensitive, or faint of heart. 
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littlepileofgoodthings's review against another edition

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dark funny medium-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

3.75

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river69rat's review against another edition

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dark funny tense medium-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

4.25

I was feeling my toes dipping into a reading slump and this book dragged me right out of it. The narrative voice gets insufferable at points but the pacing and story telling methods is fantastic.
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