Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Das Beste sind die Augen by Monika Kim

139 reviews

mariannaofthelion's review against another edition

5.0

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness, Drug abuse

Minor: Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Alcohol

cinnamonsweetpotatofries's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail

irmitcrab's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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the messages got a little heavy handed for me, like i didn't feel that it was necessary to have the feminist overtones spelled out so frequently and blatantly. i would rather have just drawn my own conclusions for ji-won's motivations bc they were pretty clear to begin with. BUT, all that being said, i thought it was a fun thriller with a fun killer protagonist to root for, and the heavy handedness of it made sense in that context. like yeah i'll root for the traumatized man killer, she deserves a little treat. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail

sapphic_alpaca's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious tense

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol

Minor: Vomit, Classism

wellreadsyd's review against another edition

2.75

adventurous slow-paced

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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This book had a very slow start, but the final third made it worth the read. While I understand the need for character development, the first two-thirds dragged a bit too much for my taste. That said, I really appreciated the Korean American perspective and the main character’s internal conflict regarding her cravings—it added a unique and compelling layer to the story. I just wish the action had kicked in sooner because once it did, I was fully invested.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder

Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail

pchfzzz's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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A quick read, very tense. Shirt chapters which allowed for easy stopping points, this was definitely a book you may need to put down and come back to when it gets too uncomfortable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Murder

Moderate: Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment

The pacing picks up about halfway through it is slow at first.

daniellekat's review against another edition

1.75

dark slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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UGH I thought this would be such an easy 5 star book. The writing was well done and easy to read, but just NOTHING was happening for so long. I nearly DNF'd when I got halfway and still nothing notable had happened. I skim read the second half and I'm glad I'm not spending any more time on this. This would have worked so much better as a novella. The imagery was great, although a little too much reliance on dreams by the author for my taste. I enjoyed the overarching themes and thought the narrow characterization of George and Geoffrey worked well. Overall this was just a major disappointment.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Misogyny, Racism, Toxic relationship, Murder

Moderate: Abandonment

nocturnalbookworm's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Racism, Cannibalism, Murder, Abandonment

Moderate: Sexism, Stalking

seanamcphie's review against another edition

3.0

dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail

radtj's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This book was very captivating, from the main characters to the evolving plot following them. I really enjoyed how the author slowly develops Ji-won’s character over the course of the book, and shows how she’s changing as a person! Great story.

But I feel like the ending came together almost too perfectly. While it was satisfying, it also felt like there were small plot gaps, like Geoffrey having the knife with Ji-won’s fingerprints all over it. Overall still a great read though!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Cannibalism, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Kidnapping, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts