Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

21 reviews

blackcatkai's review

slow-paced

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

1.0

CW: blood, violence, antisemitism, murder, ableism, fatphobia, food/body shaming, classism, racism (slurs and otherwise), sexual content, rape and other types of sexual assault/harassments, gore, animal cruelty and death, sexism, gaslighting, infidelity, alcohol and drug use, passages that may read a bit homophobic and/or transphobic

no. i get that it's supposed to be a satire overall and youre not meant to like the main character, but my biggest issue was how boring the entire novel is. and technically, it's only a satire in regards to the universe of food in real life, not the sexism or murder or sex or society as a whole or whatever. so maybe if it had JUST been about that, it would've been more successful for me. then the character of Dorothy would've read better with her vapid, self important, condescending, holier than thou bullshit. but not here, not when you throw in everything else.

pacing? all over the place, mainly slow. cannibalism and violence? well, its THERE, technically? but it takes forever to get to the gruesome bits and then theyre lackluster at best. this doesnt feel feminist or inclusive or a biting commentary on anything other than narcissists suck. there's also a ton of nuanced information presented in a non-nuanced way that feels like im reading an incomplete wikipedia page with no sources and missing key context. we get it, the author learned about a lot of things and wanted us to know about them, even if some info was left out, leading to what feels like misinformation, even in a fictional story.

this is more a book about gratuitous sex, fancy food, and trips to europe because its the best (except new york city, of course) than it is about cis-female empowerment, cannibalism, or violence. its repetitive use of simile, speaking down to the reader, and infodumps, left me disengaged, bored, and desperate for the end.

basically, this book was not for me, and im so glad its finally over. thank you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Classism, Rape, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Ableism, Racial slurs, Racism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Gore, Murder, and Body horror

Moderate: Sexual assault, Outing, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Mental illness, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Cancer, Homophobia, Antisemitism, Drug use, Cannibalism, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Transphobia

itsheyfay's review against another edition

challenging dark funny reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

My head is still reeling from this 😵‍💫 It was funny and sharp, but it took me all over the place with its pacing and random interludes of memory/commentary.

Either way, I’m going to be thinking about this for a while.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Death, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Car accident, Gore, Infidelity, Murder, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexism

Minor: Cancer, Antisemitism, and Death of parent

rachael03's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Cannibalism, Sexual violence, Rape, and Murder

lilacwhisker's review against another edition

dark funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

Pretty enjoyable! Really picks up near the end as well. I enjoyed how relatable Dorothy was (which I think in part is why this book is so popular) and, despite the murders, really enjoyed hearing her talk about her life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Death of parent, Cannibalism, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Stalking

Moderate: Cancer and Confinement

Minor: Animal death

raquelcanread's review against another edition

challenging dark funny reflective 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Stalking, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual harassment

rach_lind's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny fast-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

4.0

Wow. It's objectively horrifying and yet absolutely fantastic. You're hooked almost immediately and stay there throughout. Good and interestin ending, great reveaks and surprises. Shocking at times, hilarious, and relatable too. 

The only thing that was a bit irritating was coming across a word every other page that I had to underline and look up. And I feel like I have a pretty decent vocab. So prepare for that--but it seems also to be purposeful in its parody of extravagant food writers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Cancer, Stalking, Car accident, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Terminal illness, Murder, Violence, Infidelity, Body horror, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Cannibalism, Death, and Death of parent

jdf1027's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I'm a little ashamed at how many times I laughed and how many times I was turned on. Gruesome but infatuating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Rape, Death, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Car accident, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Cannibalism, Violence, Murder, Cancer, Gore, and Terminal illness

Minor: Antisemitism

jolyne's review against another edition

dark funny reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

5.0

Summers’ writing style is insane and decadent; every page is chock-full with words that feel plump enough to eat lol. The story flips between campy dry humor and brutally disturbing descriptions, but it stays consistently clever. I did laugh out loud a good amount. A warning: there is strong sexual content and the descriptions of the protag’s mutilations leave little to the imagination. It’s funny that this is the first story that I’ve read where our lead is horrifying and twisted, but loveable in a way that makes me feel like I’ve lost a friend after finishing the book. Some things are iffy but make sense when you contextualize them with how icky Dorothy is. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Car accident, Violence, Death of parent, Mental illness, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Alcohol, Cursing, Death, and Stalking

Moderate: Gaslighting, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Vomit, Sexual assault, Rape, and Sexual harassment

lycheejelly's review against another edition

dark funny reflective medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Cancer, Alcoholism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death of parent, Rape, Infidelity, Misogyny, Antisemitism, Blood, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Animal death, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Bullying, Homophobia, Medical content, Stalking, Outing, Body shaming, Classism, Incest, Biphobia, Fatphobia, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

alainareading's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Violence