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gia0203's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Kidnapping, Self harm, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Murder, Transphobia, Animal death, and Torture
Minor: Sexual violence, Alcoholism, and Drug use
right_kidney's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Without spoilers, my only major complaint is that the main character’s reflective narration sometimes got repetitive, especially in the early to middle section of the book. I would’ve liked to see an exploration into other elements of her mind/past or at least different approaches to what themes were included. It sometimes felt like the author didn't trust the reader to understand the character through what she’d already written, and added a very blunt statement to make sure we understood (and sometimes repeating that statement multiple times).
Graphic: Torture, Blood, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Eating disorder, Gore, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Violence, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Transphobia, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Vomit
Minor: Drug use, Excrement, Addiction, Animal death, and Sexual violence
weirdly_reading's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, and Torture
Minor: Transphobia
roach's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I've rebelled against the grave that was meant for me. I deserve to die in the mud with dignity like everything else. I deserve to die next to the woman I love.
The two main characters are arguably two pieces of Leitz herself and many of their plights and hopes seem to mirror the author's own personality to a degree. The one being a musician and the other an online micro-celebrity writing about horror and/or true crime.
As a content creator herself who has spent hours researching, discussing, and analyzing true crime, gore media, and grimy fiction, May Leitz explores what that might do to a person through the characters in her book. The guilt of participating in making a spectacle of someone else's suffering, as well as how these stories fuel the growing fire to fight injustice. The book also takes on the unique experience of being a secluded person experiencing small-scale fame and all the parasocial relationships that come with it. Subjects like childhood trauma through a problematic household and transphobia are also subjects that pop up. Many of which are probably at least partially inspired by personal experiences and it makes for interesting character building in-between the gruesome violence.
It's also a fresh breeze of air to get a story like this, filled with and inspired by so much despair and suffering, that's spearheaded by two women with a genuinely harmonious relationship, ready to fight. It is satisfying to see them empower each other and demand a better future for themselves while refusing to succumb to victimhood.
This was a very fitting follow-up to Leitz's first book and I'm looking forward to where she's going from here.
Graphic: Murder, Torture, Gore, Death, and Transphobia
Moderate: Drug use
atranscryptid's review
- 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
Graphic: Murder, Vomit, Drug use, Lesbophobia, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Torture, and Suicide attempt
vereisnthere's review
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Blood, Cursing, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Death, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Deadnaming, Violence, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Sexual content, Child abuse, and Confinement
Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Vomit, Car accident, Animal cruelty, Excrement, and Animal death
Minor: Death of parent, Medical content, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Colonisation