Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

83 reviews

kllyholt's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Cannibalism, and Child death

Moderate: Stalking, Sexism, and Sexual violence

rhi_'s review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Body horror, Murder, and Sexism

Moderate: Blood, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Rape

Minor: Gun violence, Torture, Cannibalism, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Trafficking, and Confinement

superiour_medium's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A delightfully dark and often disturbing aversion of a vampire story. All of the horror of a vampiric life but without the broad Gothic romance, but instead a very ground-level look at a mother son duo.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Alcohol

Moderate: Cannibalism, Toxic relationship, and Cursing

Minor: Confinement and Acephobia/Arophobia

whatcassiedid's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this but it did feel at times like it could have lost a plotline and been a novella instead

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, and Gore

cassie7e's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I think I've found a new author to bingeread!
I read this book with very little knowledge of what I was getting into beyond "people who eat books" and that made every layer of context a wonderful discovery! I loved the ominous oppressive atmosphere, the literary references, the nonlinear timeline, the nuanced internal conflicts given the external circumstances.  This book is fantastic for the story itself, and on top of that provided some much needed representation.

I think what keeps this from being a 5-star for me is that it is not invested in a lot of world-building. I don't think that hurts this story necessarily but I generally prefer books with more intrigue and complex details. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Blood, Misogyny, and Sexism

Minor: Death, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault

the_one_krissy's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror and Gore

pettigrew143's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Cannibalism, Death, Violence, Murder, Blood, and Sexual assault

anastasiamakes's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful mysterious sad 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

A story of motherly love, and the lengths one will go to to protect her child in a world pitted against them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Death, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape

Minor: Alcohol, Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Slavery, and Vomit

bubbly_lara's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

What a brilliant book! 
The setting, atmosphere and mood were very dark and gloomy, but in a good way (reminded me a bit of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's "Mexican Gothic"). 

I really liked the story, the characters and the writing style. Highlighted quite a lot of quotes, I'll put three further down below.

The themes of chosen/found family and trying to find who you are as a person outside of the people you grew up with, what is expected of you vs the pursuit of what makes you happy deeply resonated with me. 

Highly recommend if you're looking for a slightly spooky, rather dark and grim story of a young mother trying to break her son and herself free from familial chains and expectations, hoping to one day have a better life for themselves.

"Memory was an anchor. It could ground you in a storm, keep you from drifting.
But anchors could also weigh you down and keep you from sailing free."

"For here was the thing that no fairy tale would ever admit, but that she understood in that moment: love was not inherently good."

"- What price do you put on love? 
- No price. There isn't one. Love doesn't have a cost. It's just a choice you make."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Blood, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Gore, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Alcohol, Grief, Infertility, Blood, Classism, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, and Body horror

Minor: Incest, Outing, Rape, Torture, Trafficking, and Adult/minor relationship

laylagrace's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Gore, and Torture

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Pregnancy, Blood, and Body horror