Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Brutes

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

keirahelena_'s review against another edition

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mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.25

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mad_books_'s review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

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alepet's review

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challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

3.0

The premise of the book was really intriguing, but I thought some of the scenes/descriptions went on for longer than they needed to, a beautiful metaphor was often lost in the ten that followed.

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geophony's review against another edition

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4.0

Still processing (it gets kind of confusing, especially towards the end) but I loved the writing style, I loved the first-person plural narration, and the motifs of stones and doors are really intriguing.

I think I like the confusion/surreality. It's the sort of book where I think I'd get a lot out of a re-read. I should have checked the content warnings before reading but that's on me!

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miiikaaaylaaa's review

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dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I LOVED this book. Ate it right up! And then… the ending bombed for me. It started a little slow but picked up quickly during the middle. I was unsure of the plural first person perspective, but it quickly grew on me. I thought there were some very “quotable” discussions of girlhood - the good, the weird, the bad, and the ugly. Will definitely give it some time and revisit for a second read. The magical realism got a little too theoretical for me and I had to check Reddit/TikTok/GoodReads for some others’ opinions and analyses. Overall - it was good and I enjoyed it up to the very end. Don’t think I would recommend for most though!

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bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

Immediately intrigued and pulled in! Brutes held my attention even though I didn’t understand it half the time 😅

Switching timelines, told mostly through a group POV (using “we” as it tells the story of the whole group) and the future timelines which feature one chapter from each character in a sort of “where are they now” POV. The novel forms a story of girlhood, jealousy, and loyalty with religious and dark undertones!

This was a quick and captivating read but not as dark as I expected based on the synopsis.

Expected a mystery where we learn what happened but we never really do. I was especially confused by the ending.

Very weird story and confusing but I kind of liked it? Definition of no plot just vibes, which I don’t usually enjoy but the writing and characters held me. I really enjoyed the imagery and lyrical prose!

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applesodaperson's review

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mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I liked this book at the start, but my like of it definitely declined as the book went on. I found the ending confusing, and in the present day sections, where the kids are grown up, I had a really hard time remembering who was who because there really wasn’t much to differentiate them. It was all kind of samey. I will say I liked the use of the “we” perspective in the flashbacks. It felt really unique and isn’t something I have seen in very many other books. I also liked the girlhood rage themes. Very fun and nostalgic. But yeah I was expecting a sort of murder mystery where the reader slowly learns what actually happened and that is just not what this was.
Listened to on Libby.

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