kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
it got to the point where the sensorial detail even became repetitive; blood = rubies, entrails = coils/ribbons, bones = baby teeth… we get it! tons of words used over & over to the point where it almost felt like copy/paste. for a book so short it shouldn’t have been hard to come up with a word to replace “bathyal” instead of saying it over & over
neither of the leads were interesting. we were on the cusp of so many interesting details about “mermaid” lore, about human reanimation, the magical universe they are in, but the author chose to squander that on pages and pages of describing trees and skin and teeth. the romance had potential to be interesting, but again… the author chose to focus on how everything smelled and tasted for some reason
also this was an extremely loose “fairytale retelling”; I was personally okay with that, but don’t come in expecting anything detailed in that regard. Khaw doesn’t really go into detail about anything that isn’t a texture or a taste
if style over substance is your jam, this may be for you! it is firmly not mine so 2 stars trending downward. I had a similar complaint with Nothing But Blackened Teeth, so I think this author is just on the Don’t Read list for me :/ kernels of really interesting but ultimately unrealized premise seem to be the lay of the land. spent the whole book waiting for Khaw to get into the story only for there not to be a story at
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Kidnapping, Gore, Child death, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Cannibalism, Miscarriage, and Child abuse
lakinlindsey's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, War, Kidnapping, Medical content, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Slavery, Child death, Gore, Death, Murder, Rape, Violence, and Torture
leeghlee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, Medical content, and Violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Miscarriage
rmgmorrow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Medical trauma, Violence, Body horror, Blood, Child death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
r_o_s_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, Death, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Child death, Medical content, and Torture
Minor: Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Cannibalism, and Dysphoria
infinitelibrary's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Body horror, Death, Gore, Medical content, and Blood
Moderate: Torture, Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Violence, and Miscarriage
klr0's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical content, Torture, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Body horror, Cannibalism, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Grief
gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It’s a perfect book for spooky season - a godsdamned nightmare of body horror and teeth.
Graphic: Body horror, Medical trauma, Violence, Torture, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Kidnapping and Physical abuse
Listen this book is a giant content warning for body horror. The mermaid cannot die, even while vivisectioned apart. The descriptions of what she eats in turn is graphic. There is no handholding here that I’ve seen in other horror.nkmustdie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Torture, Ableism, Classism, Confinement, Grief, Animal death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Blood, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Slavery, Violence, Bullying, Cannibalism, Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Trafficking
spadedigsbutts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
[Will add more later!]
Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Child death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Kidnapping, Misogyny, Vomit, Confinement, Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, and Pregnancy