Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester

9 reviews

c0rpsekat's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

MORE QUEER FOCUSED HORROR PLEASE !! this book is so dark , gorgeous , and cherishable !!! the most beautifully written experience i've had the pleasure to read . i truly felt anxious and scared as i lived DEEP in this universe Kristi DeMeester created , but i also felt such sadness , love , and sympathy for the characters and their stories . Lila and Caroline are not only my favorite characters i've read , but ones that will stick with me in every day of my life . as a queer , afab trans person who came out at around Lila's age raised by a single mother who recently passed away ... wow . this book spoke to me in ways i never knew a horror novel could . an absolutely chilling , sorrowful , and astounding ride .

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Grief, Lesbophobia, Body shaming, Death, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Body horror, Bullying, Sexism, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Drug use, and Drug abuse

aparker89's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Body horror, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Terminal illness, Torture, Child death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Eating disorder, Chronic illness, Dementia, and Pregnancy

bellestallard'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
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

one of the most unique horror stories i’ve read! a true page turner. i wish the ending had been a bit stronger. it felt so good but then lead up to a weaker last few chapters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Misogyny, Murder, Death of parent, Blood, Child death, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Body horror

Minor: Pregnancy and Vomit

minimicropup's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

Mysterious, feral, abstract 

 

🇺🇸 Set mostly in Atlanta, Georgia and New Orleans, Lousiana in 2004 and 2019. 

POV: We follow a teen navigating their crush on a best friend in 2019. We also get a peek into the past via the experience of the teen's parents in 2004 and present day 2019. 

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🐺Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags🐕 

😃 Atmospheric and in their heads writing style that didn't feel bogged down. 

 

🤔 The synopsis sounded a bit out of my league (I don’t like in your face symbolism), but it was excellent. The symbolism started off subtle and gradually got louder but remained plausible as the story progressed and characters evolved. I didn't always understand what it was trying to say or show, but it didn't take away from the story for me. Probably a great book club read. 

👍 I think the story covers how mental illness, especially in women, is treated in modern times in a relatable way. Very show not tell - like how loved ones really do want you to get better, but have their own complications to add (don't just pop pills you just need to relax. Or just pop pills and be cured).  

🥹 I found the experiences of the characters relatable for anyone who is sensitive or intuitive and has been accused of being too emotional or too sensitive. Like feeling lost or alien in your own body and mind and feeling feral sometimes. 

🤷‍♀️ This is a story I think many could still identify with and enjoy. It doesn't rely on misandry or man = bad tropes. In some cases men were stifled in their coping skills because of patriarchal systems and beliefs growing up that denied them a chance to be themselves and gain confidence. In other cases, men are beasts and predators, but the distinction is made, along with how that affects girls and young women. 
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Mood Reading Match Up: 

• Coming-of-age friendship drama and finding your true self 
• Mental illness, monster, memories, or magic?
• Ominous undercurrent of serial killer crimes through the decades 
• Archetypes, commentary, and themes around animal nature, “fuck politeness”, patriarchy, and the beasts that walk among us 
• "Are you the one?", "Will they make it?" romantic suspense and drama 

 

Content Heads-Up: Mental illness (hallucination). Misogyny (systemic, medicine and psychiatry). Parental rejection. Medical (hospice, cancer). Death of a parent. Loss of a teen. Body horror (murder, dismembering, disfiguring). Natural disasters (Hurricane Katrina recollection and aftermath). Lesbian rep (homophobic characters and supportive ones). 

 

Format: Hardcover

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Death of parent

Moderate: Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Body horror, Misogyny, and Cancer

oliviavm8's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Beautifully written. I felt the grief and sadness radiating through this book. As a woman who has been subjected to abuse by a man- this book hit me deeply in places I tend to keep hidden. It took a while for me to fully understand and grasp the concept of the book but when I did it hit so deep within me. Ugh, so raw and emotional- absolutely loved it. Five star book for me- any woman should read this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Body horror, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

szyca's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Blood, Gaslighting, Sexism, Animal death, Mental illness, Gore, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Body horror, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Bullying, and Grief

ataraxicbear's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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

Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester is, uh, absolutely wild. I have no words for how dark and twisty and insane this book is. Basically what's happening is a bunch of prepubescent girls are going missing, and their bodies are turning up completely mutilated. No one has any idea what's going on and who this serial killer could possibly be. Eerily enough, they exactly match a string of cold case murders from 15 years ago. Everyone said it was The Cur, but no one actually knows what that means. The one thing we do know is that 12 year old Lila Sawyer is having some really dark and oppressing thoughts. Even worse, the reader knows that her mother, Caroline, had those same thoughts 15 years ago too... As we go through this book we are alternating between three perspectives: Lila 2019, Caroline 2004, and Caroline 2019. We slowly start to uncover what is going on in these girls heads, and why there are so many young girls disappearing. 

Overall, I gave this book a 4/5 stars. Here's why:
I personally love dark and twisty books, so this was right up my alley! I loved the unique story line, the mysterious aspect, trying to figure out what the heck was going on, and the generational dilemma. My biggest issue with the book was the pacing in terms of alternating timelines. Sometimes we would go several chapters of one timeline before switching, and I wish they switched a little more often, leaving me with cliffhangers as I'm going through the book. The other issue I had is that in really high stakes fast paced scenes, I feel like the author missed some things and was unable to fully flesh out her thoughts. It felt skippy and that certain things would come out of nowhere. It just wasn't explained the best.

Content warning: this book is DARK. If you are bothered by any of the following, this may not be the book for you... body mutilation, sexual assault, paranoid schizophrenia, anxiety attacks, gaslighting, animal abuse, gore, violence, murder, child death, pedophilia

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advance e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Child death, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Rape, Violence, Gore, and Mental illness

ohhthehorrors's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship

butyougotmysoul's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-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

2.75

This book was supplied to me as an ARC from Netgalley.  

I'm of two minds with this book.  I feel like it relies on some tropes that I really didn't appreciate such as mental health being to blame for severe character flaws,

but then that turns around in the last two-ish chapters.  For me as a reader with mental health issues I would have liked to see some other explanation.

  I don't know.  Maybe with time this book will grow on me, but I'm not keeping my hopes up.  The casual fatphobia littered throughout also did not do this book any favors.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Violence