littlespookycute's review against another edition
4.0
This book was terrifying, disgusting, and heartbreaking. I really enjoyed this one and super relevant!
nessa_arandur's review against another edition
3.0
This was a good little splatterpunk romp through a post-apocalyptic USA in which the men suddenly become overcome by some sort of audio-virus that makes them insatiably rape any woman they see. The author keeps the story pretty focused on the survival of our protagonist and her small band, which worked really well. It was well written, but I had some issues that had me vacillating on whether to give this two or three stars.
The biggest one was the inconsistency in the initial idea that the men only seemed to be raping women. We're led to believe this is somehow linked to the misogyny of the president's message, but that idea gets turned on its head the instant one man is seen sticking his d*ck into a crashed car's exhaust pipe. If inanimate objects would do the job, why weren't the men raping one another? What about trans men or men without penises? What about intersex folk? The author had a chance here to touch (albeit superficially) on what it means to be a man but didn't. This is a short fiction work so maybe she just didn't want to distract from the fun romp, but by the end I was confused as to why the men weren't attacking one another. I wish she had addressed this more directly so that I could understand.
I also found the fact the author's choice to have the protagonist referring to female genitals as cun*s really strange. I don't know a single women who refers to her genitals as a cun* and this jarred me out of my suspension of disbelief.
Also the idea that being raped was "the worst thing" that could happen to a woman was outdatedly laughable. She could be literally murdered and that would be the worst thing, or lose all her loved ones. The idea of being raped USED to be the worst thing when men placed women's societal value on a woman's virginity (also an outdated concept). Being raped meant she was "spoiled" and no longer worth anything to other men. The author doesn't posit any other reason for rape being the worst thing that can happen to a woman in this book, so I have to assume this idea is based in the same outdated societal notions. That was really disappointing and so unrealistic that it jarred me out of the book.
All that being said, it was sufficiently gory and well-written that I will probably explore her other books.
The biggest one was the inconsistency in the initial idea that the men only seemed to be raping women. We're led to believe this is somehow linked to the misogyny of the president's message, but that idea gets turned on its head the instant one man is seen sticking his d*ck into a crashed car's exhaust pipe. If inanimate objects would do the job, why weren't the men raping one another? What about trans men or men without penises? What about intersex folk? The author had a chance here to touch (albeit superficially) on what it means to be a man but didn't. This is a short fiction work so maybe she just didn't want to distract from the fun romp, but by the end I was confused as to why the men weren't attacking one another. I wish she had addressed this more directly so that I could understand.
I also found the fact the author's choice to have the protagonist referring to female genitals as cun*s really strange. I don't know a single women who refers to her genitals as a cun* and this jarred me out of my suspension of disbelief.
Also the idea that being raped was "the worst thing" that could happen to a woman was outdatedly laughable. She could be literally murdered and that would be the worst thing, or lose all her loved ones. The idea of being raped USED to be the worst thing when men placed women's societal value on a woman's virginity (also an outdated concept). Being raped meant she was "spoiled" and no longer worth anything to other men. The author doesn't posit any other reason for rape being the worst thing that can happen to a woman in this book, so I have to assume this idea is based in the same outdated societal notions. That was really disappointing and so unrealistic that it jarred me out of the book.
All that being said, it was sufficiently gory and well-written that I will probably explore her other books.
n0rmann's review against another edition
5.0
Very dark and at points it was hard to read but it was such a well-done book. I'd recommend it to anyone.
jessartisan's review against another edition
1.0
I'm pretty bummed at how "not for me" this was. It's so completely over-the-top in its blunt explicitness that it almost reads like a comedy (were it not for all of the extreme sexual violence). Maybe that's the intention?
I'd have loved to see this concept treated with more respect.
ETA: I've just realized this is the 45th book I've completed this year, which is amusing given the implied antagonist. Heh.
I'd have loved to see this concept treated with more respect.
ETA: I've just realized this is the 45th book I've completed this year, which is amusing given the implied antagonist. Heh.
tracyreads's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
tessa_grayreading's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
Tbh for the graphic rape scenes and mutilation of women's bodies I had to endure and the fact that the word "defiled" is used more than once to refer to a raped woman (instead of, you know, literally any other word that doesn't make it sound like the woman has lost worth now or somehow willingly let someone take her worth from her instead of someone else violating her against her wishes) there was not enough payoff in the sense of societal criticism. I expected this to pack a punch in regards to what it would say about today's society. Instead this is just torture porn (in the truest sense of both words).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Death, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Suicide, Vomit, and Violence
the_bookubus's review
4.0
Cockblock is about Sonya and her girlfriend who go out to a restaurant for their monthly date night, and en route they are verbally assaulted by random men in the street. The verbal abuse quickly escalates and the women must fight to escape. This is just the beginning of a wild ride of a story. To say much more of the plot would be spoilery so I'll leave it there but this story quickly sucked me in and I finished it in one day. Hunt skilfully blended violence, action, and schlock with emotion, meaning, and social and political commentary. I definitely want to read more by her.
As you can probably tell, this story contains graphic violence and sexual content.
As you can probably tell, this story contains graphic violence and sexual content.
ashtheviking's review
5.0
4.5 Another great read from C.V. Hunt. Her books are truly fucked up. In this one a vitriolic misogynistic broadcast from the American president is turning all men into rape zombies. Hunt continues the horrifyingly vivid descriptions of the worst things imaginable but amazingly a few pages after a depiction of graphic rape and wallowing in that horror to your core you could find yourself laughing out loud a couple pages later because of the absurdity of the pick up lines. And while there were laughs at no point in time was rape the punchline. Great revenge and badass ladies. I wish it was longer.
thepaperwitch's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This was a bizarre story that tried to pack in a lot of misogynistic horror within a very specific plot and ending. It was strange because at times it reaches the depths to address and recognize the pain and horror misogyny causes, but most of the time it stays at a surface level and the story glides, almost literally, over the backs of broken women to get there. This is definitely a cathartic release that I think many people may enjoy, but the trauma to get there might be too real or too high of a mental price to pay for others.
CW: misogyny, cat calling, rape, abuse, death, murder, and homophobia.
CW: misogyny, cat calling, rape, abuse, death, murder, and homophobia.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Violence