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kelkelkelkelly's review
- 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 story is like if White Lotus read a bunch of queer theory, spent 50+ hours on lesbian TikTok engaging in discourse, then declared it could be the voice of a generation. It’s hyper-niche - I think the only people who could get through it are upper middle class queers in major metropolitan areas of North America. The references are so specific and trend driven that it already feels dated to read, and will probably be illegible in ten years.
The POV character Sasha is deeply unlikable, self-obsessed, manipulative, performative, controlling, and vain. The other characters are all thinly drawn, and it’s hard to tell if that’s to underscore Sasha’s self-obsession or bad writing. Lou, the only character of colour, is a particularly egregious example of this, seeming to be mostly ignored in the story as though the author couldn’t decide what to do with them, or otherwise demonstrating by omission that Sasha doesn’t care about anything she can’t fuck, control, or hate.
The novel is an uncomfortably frank look at how power works in queer social dynamics, albeit a very narrow sampling of the highly wealthy, mostly cis, and butch/femme conforming. It depicts the ways femme identity can be weaponized to conceal manipulation and controlling behaviour, brushed off as games and “high femme camp antics”, and insisting that if you don’t get you simply must not be smart enough. The book misapplies therapy speak and queer theory citations constantly, blurring the line between critique and asinine nonsense.
In all this, it’s impossible to tell if this was the author’s intent or if she’s just done a sloppy job at writing a complicated character. Either way, it gets points for originality and entertainment value.
Graphic: Fatphobia, Classism, Sexual content, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Excrement
Explicit kink contentshaunietje's review
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
Graphic: Body shaming
m_onalisaa's review
- Loveable characters? Yes
0.25
Graphic: Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Bullying, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Abandonment, Body shaming, Medical content, Blood, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Biphobia, Sexual violence, Body horror, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Drug use, and Toxic relationship
icmcmx's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
It's like the writer took the most absurd things she could think of & threw them together in this grotesque mess of words.
This is not being queer. Please don't think that this is it.
Also would love to call the RSPCA for that poor dug.
Graphic: Antisemitism, Body shaming, Drug use, Sexual content, Torture, Ableism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Biphobia, Classism, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Medical content, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
carokv's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Body shaming, Body horror, and Blood
sunbeam_reader's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Graphic: Torture, Body horror, Sexual content, and Gore
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Lesbophobia, Excrement, and Biphobia