Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The Bird Eater by Ania Ahlborn

7 reviews

kelsieerenee's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty

Moderate: Addiction, Grief, Rape, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Blood, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Suicide, and Alcohol

Minor: Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Child death, Pregnancy, Violence, Car accident, Self harm, Death of parent, and Gun violence

stardustvein's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Animal death, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Grief, Animal cruelty, and Blood

Moderate: Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Stalking, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Death of parent

Minor: Pregnancy, Cursing, and Infidelity

killmoore_'s review

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A beautiful look at mental illness and grief, Ania Ahlborn knocks it out of the park again. 

Although the ending felt rushed and, if I'm being honest, a bit predictable, The Bird Eater is a well written story of a haunting not only of a house, but a mind. 

-spoiler, kind of?-
Cheri is awful, and the way she pushed herself on Aaron (despite having not seen him in over 20 years) really irritated me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Animal death, Death of parent, Gore, Violence, Car accident, Child death, Grief, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

creepycrawlybookworm's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Child death, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Suicide, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Infidelity, and Drug abuse

bonnie_bee's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

1.0

 Every ten pages or so toward the end has some variation of “Aarons last thread of sanity snapped” and after the third rendition, it simply feels sloppy. To cite the words of the writer in their acknowledgments “Every so often, an author has such trouble with a novel that they’re pushed to the brink of madness. For me, this was that book. What started out as a fractured first draft turned into a genre-confused mishmash of a story that simply didn’t work …”
 
For transparency, they do go on to express their thanks to those who helped shape the book, but I think this line specifically more than anything describes the experience I had while reading.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, and Alcoholism

kermit_the_wrong's review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

A predictable ending and not Ahlborn's best writing, but good nonetheless. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Animal death, Gore, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Infidelity, Death of parent, Drug use, Alcoholism, Car accident, Addiction, and Mental illness

Minor: Sexual content

tatereads's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Murder, Gun violence, Grief, Death of parent, Child death, Blood, Violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Death, Body horror, Animal death, Gore, Car accident, and Alcohol