Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum

4 reviews

bashsbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

3.25

Helpmeet is a curious little horror novella. It is short and nasty, but the twist is compelling and the ending is absolutely fascinating - what an interesting exploration of domestic affairs, marriage, and loyalty. The start is a little slow, and the writing style isn't my favorite at times. Ultimately still glad that I read it, though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Gore, Medical content, Body horror, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Classism and Toxic relationship

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Sexual content, and Misogyny

vixenreader's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

A dense slow burn into one of the most grotesque romances to exist in a novella, the twist rewards the reader with a beautifully strange read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Body horror, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Drug use and Drug abuse

Minor: Alcohol and Alcoholism

Be aware of body horror involving two people merging together, and with body parts falling off.

anoldharmonica's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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? No

5.0

Usually novellas leave me feeling like the author stretched out a short story idea for 50 pages too long OR like the author got bored halfway through writing a full-length novel and decided to just wrap it up early. But here is the rare novella that is exactly the right length. Long enough to give you all the gory details without overstaying its welcome. This book packs more weird body horror into 75 pages than other 500+ pg novels I’ve read. Five stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, Medical content, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Alcohol

sarah984's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

This was a strange little novella and I'm not sure how I feel about it. 

It's 1900 and Louise's husband is dying of a syphilis-like illness. He was a surgeon and she had worked in the same hospital so they approach his dissolution with a sort of clinical detachment that can sometimes be more horrifying than if they were shocked about it. They (especially Louise) are also dealing with the judgement from others based on the nature of the (both assumed and actual) illness, which I thought was well done.

I liked the end point and what came from that, but I could not understand why Louise made the decisions that she did. She came across as a bit of a cypher in a way that made her ultimate decision seem a bit far fetched. I also wish we had gotten a bit more from the instigator, because I wasn't really clear on what her goal was.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Infidelity

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Suicide, and Misogyny