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wrenny03's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
Do not go into The Caves. The Caves are alive and malicious and they want you dead. This book fucks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Drug use, Body horror, Death, and Vomit
Moderate: Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Confinement
Minor: Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship
fictionalportal's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Coming back to add to this review almost eight months after reading the book because I still think about this story. It's an absolutely haunting meditation on grief and the havoc it can wreak on the human psyche. Safe to say I never left the cave besties <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Confinement, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Vomit, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
madarauchiha's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
✨🌠 my about / byf / CW info carrd: uchiha-madara 🌠✨
Ok. I don't understand why people were so hot for this book. Kinda lesbian flavored horror set in a cave. The writing is ok, I thought the author portrayed the environment very well and didn't lose me on the technical details.
The toxic lesbian relationship felt shoehorned in and oddly placed. Personally I prefer lesbian relationships in media without the toxicity or the unhealthy, abusive dynamics. It's not unrealistic but ehhh let's do better.
I haven't read much cave based horror but I think this was fairly creepy and tense. I think the tension was more based in the environment than anything paranormal or supernatural, however. After a while it got pretty repetitious. Like.. nothing really happened lol.
If you want a horror story where the horror is mainly supernatural or paranormal, you may not appreciate this one. There is definitely some fungal body horror if you like that, though.
I don't recommend this, just go in knowing what you want.
Wrt diversity. Yes they're black characters or characters of color. Not sure which is intended. It rarely comes up outside of descriptions, so temper your expectations. Don't expect [spoiler name] to mention eating pig feet and collards as a child.
Character descriptions [mild spoilers?]
▪ The camera shifted, Em’s mother turning it around to face herself. She looked like she was in her mid-twenties, maybe the same age Em was now, and looked eager and happy, foreign expressions on her daughter’s face. She was pale-skinned, her blond hair curling gently against her cheeks, and her green eyes glittered. She had the same small notch in her chin as her daughter. “You hear that? Laurent says we’re all going to be rich.”
▪ Em’s eyes darted from side to side, too ashamed or panicked to meet Gyre’s gaze. She had dark circles under her eyes that looked like they had been there long before Gyre had entered the cave. Her hair was thick, pure black, haloing around her face in a mess of tight curls. Her skin was darker than Gyre’s, a rich, warm brown without freckles or moles. She was stunning, even in her exhaustion, even though her full, doll-like lips were chapped and torn from chewing at them. She pursed them as she thought about what to say next, the motion deepening the small cleft in her chin.
So I guess. Em is part white? idk it's confusing and shoehorned in.
The conclusion was a happy one. I didn't have everything answered but the character arcs ended well and I appreciate how it was handled. If you want answers to everything, you may be disappointed.
Content warnings
minor suicide, drug abuse, vomit,
medium medical content,
major injuries, psychosis, vomit, amputation, medical content, gore, paranoia, death, medical abuse, death, body horror, fungi horror, parasite horror, claustrophobia,
Ok. I don't understand why people were so hot for this book. Kinda lesbian flavored horror set in a cave. The writing is ok, I thought the author portrayed the environment very well and didn't lose me on the technical details.
The toxic lesbian relationship felt shoehorned in and oddly placed. Personally I prefer lesbian relationships in media without the toxicity or the unhealthy, abusive dynamics. It's not unrealistic but ehhh let's do better.
I haven't read much cave based horror but I think this was fairly creepy and tense. I think the tension was more based in the environment than anything paranormal or supernatural, however. After a while it got pretty repetitious. Like.. nothing really happened lol.
If you want a horror story where the horror is mainly supernatural or paranormal, you may not appreciate this one. There is definitely some fungal body horror if you like that, though.
I don't recommend this, just go in knowing what you want.
Wrt diversity. Yes they're black characters or characters of color. Not sure which is intended. It rarely comes up outside of descriptions, so temper your expectations. Don't expect [spoiler name] to mention eating pig feet and collards as a child.
Character descriptions [mild spoilers?]
So I guess. Em is part white? idk it's confusing and shoehorned in.
The conclusion was a happy one. I didn't have everything answered but the character arcs ended well and I appreciate how it was handled. If you want answers to everything, you may be disappointed.
Content warnings
minor suicide, drug abuse, vomit,
medium medical content,
major injuries, psychosis, vomit, amputation, medical content, gore, paranoia, death, medical abuse, death, body horror, fungi horror, parasite horror, claustrophobia,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Vomit
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Drug abuse, Suicide, and Vomit
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