Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen

52 reviews

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Any multiple will tell you that the representation of multiples in fiction is not good. Multiples in horror are particularly bad. It's all "come and play with us, Danny." But Johanna van Veen, herself a triplet, didn't come to play; so, instead of weird twins in this vampire, gothic horror, we get, dare I say, an interesting twin plot. 

The vampire is fun, the men are embarrassing, the sisters are devoted, and the setting is mad spooky. I read this in a day, practically a single sitting.

I'm an identical twin and I endorse this book.

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dark tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book is definitely somebody's cup of tea, but it's not mine. I didn't find almost any of the characters likeable, practically every type of relationship felt toxic on some level, and the mystery was so obvious it was almost painful watching them avoid the clear answer. The body horror/gore was written well, as was the sisterly love and period-accurate background (including the sexism from the shitty male characters). The climax was semi satisfying I suppose, but even the ending didn't quite do it for me.

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark tense medium-paced
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark tense 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

Wanted to like this more than I did. The setting was lovely and the prose was mostly alright but I found it got quite repetitive as the book wound on - youd swear everyone in the novel is made of paper (especially Lucy) with how easily and often they draw their own blood. 

Strong elements of social commentary on the oppressive rigidity of Victorian era life and the burden of womanhood, but it wasn’t quite fully realized as a plot point. Could have used one more male character or more involvement from Mrs Van Dijck or Katje to flesh it out a bit more. Lucy and Sarah weren’t strong enough foils of each other to be the main duo.

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challenging dark emotional mysterious 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: Complicated

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was so many different things.

A mix of gothic horror, family bonds, an illicit affair, socialism, misogyny, toxic codependency blended together and have me a creepy but exceptional read from an author I've never read before. 

The author's note highlights a lot of triggers for readers, which I appreciated because it was a fair warning to the content of the story because once I got past the 20% mark it was non stop. 
I had to pause reading at different times just so I wouldn't see the vivid images she created in my head before eating or sleeping because she rights with so much detail.

For me, this read as atmospheric due to the author's rich details, her world building, and the relationships but wow these characters are different shades of morally grey and that too added a complexity to the story.
Fantastic and creepy, and I would definitely read one of her other books.

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sirensaria's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH

I got to chapter 9 and just couldn't continue. The mental illness is random as the author doesn't give you any real details and seems to almost expect you to know what happened previously. There is absolutely no character in any person in the book. Saying they were cardboard cut outs would be insulting cardboard cut outs everywhere. Hardly anything has happened and what HAS happened makes no sense. I'm not sure if I can try this at a later date. We'll see.

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