Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Leech by Hiron Ennes

58 reviews

pantaruja's review against another edition

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Drug use, Genocide, Suicide, and Dysphoria

voxvenati's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Unique and goddamn refreshing. I earnestly cannot say I’ve read something like this before, and it was so very welcome.

So many of the things I could say in favor of this book are spoilers, but even the premise alone is a treat. I can’t express how often I’m let down after a promising synopsis and excellent first chapter. This was not one of those times.

Every chapter builds. Tension. Drama. Intrigue. Every character was crisp and distinct. Every nugget of world building fascinated me. The dialect of the locals. The fables. The history. I am left wanting. Ravenous for more.

It’s dense. It can be clinical at times. I loved it because it fits the narrative. And it does start to change.

I have never had a book reveal the narrator’s pronouns/gender so deep into the story, only to have me second guessing all my previous assumptions.

I have never had such a seamless experience reading about LGBTQ+ characters where they just are. It isn’t clumsy or ham-fisted. It’s natural. It’s real. It was so fucking good.

And my dear dead gods, the slow reveal of the post-apocalypse, that the Institute and Pseudomycota are a part of that of that too? Exquisite.

The only reason this wasn’t a full 5 stars is because I never got that overwhelming sense of dread. Still, pretty damn close.

This is all said with the understanding this is a horror. There are some difficult topics. There is medical horror, body horror, and all sorts of other things. Read the content warnings if you have triggers. 

But if the premise piques your interest, and if you’re not too squeamish, this is a must read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Confinement, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, and Cannibalism

beetitnerds's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, and Sexual assault

imaginary_space's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• 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? No

2.0

This was, first and foremost ... long. I like all the tropes, the setting and the characters were interesting, but the story itself was just ... long and sometimes rambling. I slept through most of the last third.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror and Rape

Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

avi_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Miscarriage

Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

samsquanch's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

ichewonpushpins's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, and Abandonment

Horrible Gothic horror brutality told with a dry, clinical tone. This book was a bizarre and shockingly violent ride.

vellumveela's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Characterization felt a bit forced. Very atmospheric, but I felt still like much more could have been done there. Plot wasn't as deeply weird as I'd hoped it would be, which isn't to say it isn't weird as hell. But you know, if you're going to go there, and you're working with an interesting setting and cast of characters, you might as well all in, yknow?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Medical content, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, and Misogyny

Minor: Drug use, Suicide, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

harpybuns's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book answers the question, what if Tamsyn Muir wrote a gothic horror novel set in a post-apocalyptic society as told by a hivemind symbiote? It's gross, it's cryptic, it's heartbreaking. I fucking loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Vomit, and Grief

befnie's review against another edition

dark tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

I’ve never read anything like Leech before, and I hope I never do again. 

the rape written in second person and the multinational of a literal newborn were just too much for me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, and Rape

newborn mutilation, not just murder