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abanks's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
wylovat's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
magellen's review
- 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
Anyway my spouse asked if the author had used 'heavy pendulous breasts' yet, being a dude writing middle aged women, and literally two paragraphs down, badabing badaboom. 🙃
Book takes far far far too long to get its legs and then keeps on ass dragging. There's decent turn of phrase but ugh. Like. Through and through, just...give yourself a break. Read something else.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
julesbarthe10's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
sarah984's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Cultural appropriation
eeviee's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
messy678's review
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.75
Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
thehutonfowlslegs's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
I’m constantly searching for books and movies in the horror genre in an attempt to adequately scare myself (which has proven difficult), and this book surprisingly accomplished that. There were scenes that had my hand forcefully pressed to my mouth, and some of the twists had me audibly gasping.
Though a bit long, I felt like the slow burn horror was done really well. It perfectly built up to a tense, climatic ending. The writing was mildly experimental at times, and I really enjoyed the fictional quotes, articles, and book excerpts; however, I wished they had been a bit more spread throughout the novel rather than stuck at the end, as it felt a tad awkward to suddenly jump to that.
Another thing that I didn’t totally enjoy was the main character’s voice. While I loved her characterization and absolutely revel at unreliable narrators, Mary’s particular voice was just a bit too forced and cringe-worthy at times. Occasionally, there were some things directly spelled out that could’ve benefited from being implied, allowing the reader to figure things out and assess the themes on their own.
I’d also highly recommend reading the afterword, as the author discusses some important topics. Plus, I actually went 😮 when the writer revealed he’s a cisgender man. The female characterization was great, and he explained how in-depth his research was in order to accurately portray such a real yet neglected topic in fiction.
Overall, an excellent exploration of serious themes while properly giving me the creeps.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Blood, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Body shaming, Sexual violence, Torture, Religious bigotry, and Medical trauma
Minor: Vomit