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dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
a firestorm of a book. bazterrica captures and creates a world that is both familiar and not, a world within a world that is uninhabitable, that is poisonous, but poses itself as the only safe haven. the story moves quickly, in blinks, moving from one event to the next in a free flowing narrative that sucks you in with no escape. the cast, though limited, are vastly faceted, multi-sided dies of all the aspects of human nature. from the grotesque to the mundane to the innocent to the righteously furious to the resigned, there was not a piece of this book that didn’t hurt, and it hurt in the way it was meant to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Body horror, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I don’t usually enjoy books without dialogue, but The Unworthy read so smoothly that I barely even noticed. Lucia and the unnamed protagonist were lovable characters in the midst of a torturous, dark setting.
This book is all at once dystopian and relevant; horror and romance. The only reason I didn’t give it five stars was that I wished it was longer.
This book is all at once dystopian and relevant; horror and romance. The only reason I didn’t give it five stars was that I wished it was longer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault
agustina never fails to make me cry my eyes out
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Gore, Rape, Torture, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
Definitely felt like a modern fairytale, and by fairytale, I mean the Grimm kind. Although I read through it fast, it did deal with very heavy and difficult to digest topics. I do really like how it started fantastical almost, but then kept spiraling until it felt all too real. I usually get annoyed with lots of violence (especially of a certain kind) but it didn't feel gratuitous here. I honestly would have liked it more if some scenes/characters didn't feel so disconnected from the story. Like I loved the Chosen as a concept but I struggled to see how they fit into the grand scheme of things at the end. Plus, the lack of dialogue/character interaction did leave me wanting to see more of an in-depth look in some of the relationships, especially one--the main character and the love interest. Because although I appreciated Lucia and the main character's relationship, it did fall into a category of romance I absolutely hate. The "she allured me with her beauty, enchanted me even, she barely speaks to me and we only met one time! Now suddenly I am in a relationship with her with no chemistry." I will say the chemistry was built later on when there was character interaction, but for a while it had me rolling my eyes. Overall though, I did really like this even if it made me sick to my stomach.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Rape
Minor: Child death, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was disturbing, and visceral, and incredible. I don’t even have language adequate enough. The ending was perfect, and despite the brutality, and the hopelessness at times, I wanted more. The almost magical realism was absolutely chef’s kiss. So glad I randomly picked this up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
I liked this book waaaaaay more than I liked The Vegetarian, which could be due to the subject matter or the translation or both. The writing is beautiful, the stylized narration is really immersion, and I found the story very engaging.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Religious bigotry
Minor: Death of parent
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am very sad.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
In a post-apocalyptic world where the climate crisis has ravaged the whole world, the main character is a survivor of the outside world who goes into the "Sacred Sisterhood", a convent-like institution filled with women (with the exception of Him) who are all segregated into the "Chosen Ones" (The Enlightened, the Full Aura, the Minor Saints, The Diaphanous Spirits), the Unworthy, and the servants.
As someone from the middle group, the main character is able to show her dislike towards the servants and her dream of becoming one of the Enlightened ones (never like the other Chosen Ones, as she never had the desire to be mutilated). However, her views start to change when a newcomer from the outside world joins the convent.
The book is written as journal entries, as the main character doesn't want to forget, probably pertaining to how she has completely forgotten all about her life outside the convent before she started writing her journal entries. But as the days go by, she starts recalling and relates her tale as well. It was probably due to shock and repressed trauma, and as she shares her story with the newcomer Lucia, she regains her memories.
There were so many threads that the story could have followed, and all of them had so much potential that I was kind of disappointed that I was able to predict the outcome of the book despite its secretive and mysterious nature.
As someone from the middle group, the main character is able to show her dislike towards the servants and her dream of becoming one of the Enlightened ones (never like the other Chosen Ones, as she never had the desire to be mutilated). However, her views start to change when a newcomer from the outside world joins the convent.
The book is written as journal entries, as the main character doesn't want to forget, probably pertaining to how she has completely forgotten all about her life outside the convent before she started writing her journal entries. But as the days go by, she starts recalling and relates her tale as well. It was probably due to shock and repressed trauma, and as she shares her story with the newcomer Lucia, she regains her memories.
There were so many threads that the story could have followed, and all of them had so much potential that I was kind of disappointed that I was able to predict the outcome of the book despite its secretive and mysterious nature.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Death of parent
Minor: Rape
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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
Agustina Bazterrica, who hurt you, girl? This is DARK. A nameless narrator, writing an apocalyptic journal from inside the walls of a twisted convent with a LOT of big bad, super nasty secrets happening behind closed doors. Yet again, the apocalypse happens and apparently the ONLY people who survive are the batshit ones. This book solidified my stance that I'm going out in the first wave. No need for survival here, I'm good taking that eternal dirt nap at the first opportunity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death