Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - The Pisces

this book was enjoyable, but i just couldn’t get past how insufferable the main character is. she is terrible and selfish and while that might be the point i don’t know, i just couldn’t enjoy her never-ending monologues. her internalised misogyny is too much. the love scenes were good but not a lot else. don’t read this if suicide themes, animal abuse and addiction trigger you.

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kubotaaika_'s review

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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missbreathing's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.75

Well. I was warned that this would be a weird one. Usually, I like weird. Gimme weird any day! But this might have been a bit too weird for me. I usually like to stick to full or half star ratings, but 3.75⭐️ just felt right for “The Pisces.” Some thoughts:
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“The Pisces” follows Lucy, who spends the summer in Venice Beach to recover from her recent breakup and work on her doctoral thesis. In the process, she falls in love with a merman.
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The blend of realism and fantasy was so well done that it almost hurt my head to follow. Honestly, the merman stuff is done really really well.
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I was definitely warned about the merman + human sex, but, oddly enough, that wasn’t what disturbed me? The sex was definitely explicit and at times uncomfortable, so do keep that in mind! But it was actually being inside the MC’s head that weirded me out. It could be very triggering, sometimes cringey, but mostly just dark and oppressive.
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In the beginning, I thought this would be one of my favorite reads of the year. The prose is smart and funny and peppered with subtle hints of feminism. The writing is stunning! I also really liked the ending. But there was a point about halfway through where I just wanted it to end. It’s slow paced, and while I understand the stylistic choice, I think the story would have benefitted from less meandering.
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I’m glad I read this, but I wish I had known how sad it was going to be. Please check the trigger warnings for this one, as there are a LOT of potentially triggering things in it.

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lipstickitotheman's review

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challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.5

I liked the writing, but I kept falling asleep while reading. I enjoyed the first half, but kind of waited to be done with the back half. Fascinating take on mer-people--I do feel that it adds something to the genre. I just didn't particularly enjoy it.

Quotes I Liked
-"I had felt, for a long time, that if I started crying I would not stop--that if I finally ripped, there would be nothing to stop my guts from falling out." Chapter 3
-" But as soon as I saw him coming, I thought, Oh God no. He sort of looked like his picture, but more the monkey aesthetic than the hot one. Also, he had an additional werewolf essence that the photo had not captured." Chapter 13
-"Before the donuts, I didn't even know I wanted to die. Now, I attributed my crying to joy. I hadn't known that I'd wanted joy either. I had not ever known that I could have it. Now I was crying because it felt like a miracle--not only that I could want to live at all but that I actually could." Chapter 44

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