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itstheesilvie's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Fortunately or unfortunately this book made me reflect on myself and previous relationships I had with some of the women in my life. It was definitely a book that every character was so relatable yet unhinged and fucked up. It was incredibly raw writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual content, Blood, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Gore, Infidelity, and Toxic friendship
hazel_oat's review
ew ew ew ew ew!!!!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Medical trauma
butlerebecca's review against another edition
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Idk about this one - not what I expected but had very poignant reflections on gender and performativity throughout
- Update a month after reading, I keep thinking about this so I'm upping in from 3.25 to 3.75, left some lasting thoughts about queerness and the performance of desire
Main character is insufferable and wish she was reflective about this sooner than the last 5% of the book
First time I read a book with a character that uses he/she pronouns interchangeably throughout - I want a book from baby Jesse’s perspective!!!
And Jules was totally Rachel Maddow, right?
- Update a month after reading, I keep thinking about this so I'm upping in from 3.25 to 3.75, left some lasting thoughts about queerness and the performance of desire
Main character is insufferable and wish she was reflective about this sooner than the last 5% of the book
First time I read a book with a character that uses he/she pronouns interchangeably throughout - I want a book from baby Jesse’s perspective!!!
And Jules was totally Rachel Maddow, right?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Homophobia
britt_zonnebloempit's review
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
0.25
I wish I could give this minus stars. The quarter star is for Vivienne and Vivienne only.
As a lesbian, this book is full of the most fucked up bullshit I have ever read in my entire life. There is so fucking much wrong with these characters. I'm pretty sure Sasha has about a million personality disorders that she refuses to acknowledge and get help for, instead behaving like the most toxic ass bitch I have ever read about in my entire life.I'm also very much wondering where she gets the idea that she's a gold star lesbian (an outdated as fuck term imo) when she also mentioned sucking dick in the park after dark, identifies as "straight for butches," and keeps calling Jesse her boyfriend, NOT TO MENTION that Jesse is expressed as wanting testosterone but it being too expensive (and thus, identifying as trans? Making Sasha bisexual at best?)
And then that fucking livestream between Jesse and Darcy? For fucks sake, if I could somehow erase these images from my fucking brain I would give just about ANYTHING. I did NOT need to read that. At all.
What the fuck was up with that "can i come inside" bullshit too????? Some r@pe kink shit.
Also, a list of the extensive and healthy meals the dog gets from her owners:
- eye goop from her own eyes
- eye goop from her owners' eyes
- diabetic cat food
- a raw meatball (with herbs)
- a meatball baked in sauce
- leftovers from a plate
Not once did I see them give Vivienne dog food. Not. Once.
And then there is the constant, blatant fatphobia. Not just towards the women, no, towards the DOG too. Jesus fucking Christ.
Idk where this author got all these ridiculous ideas, but again, as a lesbian, none of this shit is true for most of the lesbians I know. Literally none of it.
As a lesbian, this book is full of the most fucked up bullshit I have ever read in my entire life. There is so fucking much wrong with these characters. I'm pretty sure Sasha has about a million personality disorders that she refuses to acknowledge and get help for, instead behaving like the most toxic ass bitch I have ever read about in my entire life.
And then that fucking livestream between Jesse and Darcy? For fucks sake, if I could somehow erase these images from my fucking brain I would give just about ANYTHING. I did NOT need to read that. At all.
Also, a list of the extensive and healthy meals the dog gets from her owners:
- eye goop from her own eyes
- eye goop from her owners' eyes
- diabetic cat food
- a raw meatball (with herbs)
- a meatball baked in sauce
- leftovers from a plate
Not once did I see them give Vivienne dog food. Not. Once.
And then there is the constant, blatant fatphobia. Not just towards the women, no, towards the DOG too. Jesus fucking Christ.
Idk where this author got all these ridiculous ideas, but again, as a lesbian, none of this shit is true for most of the lesbians I know. Literally none of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Dysphoria, Gore, Infidelity, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia
lanaderage25's review
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
The main character is insufferable. I do not think I enjoyed this book but I also couldn’t put it down. This is the type of book only lesbians should read because I do not want any straight person mistaking these characters as good people or accurate representations of butch/femme dynamics. These are the messy antics I’d expect of 20 year old newly out lesbians, not grown ass adults. Confusing read overall, unclear if it’s self aware or not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Sexual content
ember_is_gay's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I have no idea what this was about. Maybe I was not the target audience, but it feels very pretentious and a lot of words to say not a lot. And honestly, I am kinda sad because I was looking forward to it.
I did enjoy the weird gore/porn bit. And I really liked the expanse of lesbians displayed; the 6 main characters show a huge range of what a lesbian can be and the nuances within our community. He/him lesbians, non-binary lesbians, lesbians who have had top surgery!! All valid lesbians and all so important to be recognised.
I did enjoy the weird gore/porn bit. And I really liked the expanse of lesbians displayed; the 6 main characters show a huge range of what a lesbian can be and the nuances within our community. He/him lesbians, non-binary lesbians, lesbians who have had top surgery!! All valid lesbians and all so important to be recognised.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content
Moderate: Vomit, Gore, and Torture
preciouslittleingenue's review
1.5
I think insufferable is a good way to put it…God. Wtf.
I truly wish I had DNF’d it but I got to the point where once I got to the graphic nasty shit, it’s like…well now I might as well finish because how can it get worse?
Thankfully it didn’t. But it’s not like the ending was worth it. Apparently this novel started as a collection of essays unpacking the “high femme antics” frequently mentioned throughout, and I wish it had stayed that way. That concept and the idea of tying it to The Green Necklace was very intriguing to me and held a lot of truth. The rest of the book…? Could’ve done without it.
Whenever I read (or watch for that matter) something especially disturbing, my mind immediately goes “well, sure it’s fiction, but a real person had to come up with this for it to exist…” and I just can’t fathom how anybody’s brain goes to these places. The “performance” was frankly disgusting. I sat in my car driving with a horrid grimace on my face the entire time and felt sick to my stomach. Just. Why. God. Why. What on EARTH was the point of ANY of that? What was the point of this WHOLE BOOK? I get that the point was that they’re all unlikeable. And like, if that was it, fine. But it also was just DISGUSTING. All the disgust and the hatred of the characters only for it to go absolutely nowhere. Disappointing af. Waste of time doesn’t even feel strong enough to say because it not only felt like a waste but ALSO sickened me. Ugh.
I truly wish I had DNF’d it but I got to the point where once I got to the graphic nasty shit, it’s like…well now I might as well finish because how can it get worse?
Thankfully it didn’t. But it’s not like the ending was worth it. Apparently this novel started as a collection of essays unpacking the “high femme antics” frequently mentioned throughout, and I wish it had stayed that way. That concept and the idea of tying it to The Green Necklace was very intriguing to me and held a lot of truth. The rest of the book…? Could’ve done without it.
Whenever I read (or watch for that matter) something especially disturbing, my mind immediately goes “well, sure it’s fiction, but a real person had to come up with this for it to exist…” and I just can’t fathom how anybody’s brain goes to these places. The “performance” was frankly disgusting. I sat in my car driving with a horrid grimace on my face the entire time and felt sick to my stomach. Just. Why. God. Why. What on EARTH was the point of ANY of that? What was the point of this WHOLE BOOK? I get that the point was that they’re all unlikeable. And like, if that was it, fine. But it also was just DISGUSTING. All the disgust and the hatred of the characters only for it to go absolutely nowhere. Disappointing af. Waste of time doesn’t even feel strong enough to say because it not only felt like a waste but ALSO sickened me. Ugh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Gore
Moderate: Infidelity
annietaber's review
Literally so disturbing and for WHAT. I like a dark novel but the sudden body horror was simply too much and wasn’t even remotely connected to the plot or any character development. Shock just for scandal’s sake. I couldn’t recommend it to anyone in good conscience. Also, the characters never revealed who they were. Each action they made caught me off guard consistently; I’d think I knew each character and then they’d react in a way completely unhinged from any prior development or plot. Seemed confused in its vision and goal; instead all I got was that to be a modern lesbian you had to mutilate yourself— literally and figuratively. I thought about finishing just to say I’d read it, but after sleeping on the horrifying porno scene, I couldn’t justify putting myself through that for a book that wasn’t even important to me in the first place.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Body horror, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Gore, Blood, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
the_lesbrarian's review
dark
emotional
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This disturbing and complex novel is one I will be thinking about for a long time, but will probably never be able to read again. Centered around three very online butchfemme couples on Christmas vacation in upstate New York, Dykette explores the nuances of contemporary lesbian identity through the eyes of a deeply unlikeable narrator, Sasha. We watch relationships unravel into queer body horror at the intersection of exaggerated performance of online and real-life identity.
rep: 3 main lesbian couples, non-binary lesbians, butch/femme dynamics, he/him lesbians, they/he/she lesbians
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Body horror, and Gore
Moderate: Gaslighting, Infidelity, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, and Medical content
Minor: Sexual violence
womanwill's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-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? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, Gore, Torture, and Body horror
Moderate: Fatphobia, Infidelity, and Toxic friendship