Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

18 reviews

wjb11's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Physical abuse

snickells's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy

thenoboshow's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

frawst_disasta_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? N/A

5.0

“But what the fables forget is that mermaids have teeth.”
This is a novella about stopping horrible saints.  It grapples with the horror of cult like behaviour.

But the book is actually a love story that develops between the main characters, a deep love that is felt on the page.

While not my usual book of choice, I think this book will live rent free for quite some time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Outing

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

elliottcrow's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

carlita_tv's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

generaljinjur's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.25

Nasty, I love it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Medical content, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

laboromi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, and Blood

e_l_k's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I'd seen this book on plenty of best-of horror lists, but I'll be the first to admit that the premise alone didn't thrill me.
That doubt was dashed from my mind from the first page onwards.
Khaw has a way with descriptive prose that my English teachers would have envied, coveted, before gagging at how vivid the depictions of viscera and horrible violence are. This is NOT a book for the faint of heart or stomach. But it is a spellbinding tale of rediscovery, self-acceptance, and love in the face of pure, selfish evil. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

There is a short story at the very end of the book that presents the events directly precluding the main narrative.

kit_kat_snac's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I did not like this book at the start. It uses some difficult language but after I got used to it I got more into it. By the end I was invested and it did not go where I expected. It took about half the book to get into though because it is shorter. If you want a short interesting read with a nonbinary character I recommend. It was definitely a bit of horror and a bit of mystery. Not my favorite ever but pretty solid.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Violence, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse

It can be pretty dark and there are child deaths in here but it is important to the plot