asolis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Child abuse, Medical content, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Pregnancy, and Rape
gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Narrated by Katie Erich
Unabridged
This was just okay for me. It had a really cool snd unique concept but I just lacked any emotional connection for the story and ended up more or less having it on as background noise, unfortunately.
I wish I had had a stronger feeling for this title.
Graphic: Death, Rape, Misogyny, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Physical abuse, Gore, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexism, Body horror, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Blood, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Addiction, Abandonment, Violence, Torture, Outing, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Sexual violence
mo345's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Grief, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Infertility, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia and Trafficking
kurumipanda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, and Sexism
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Rape, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Medical content
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, and Suicidal thoughts
clairew97's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Classism, Death, Abandonment, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Confinement, Grief, Homophobia, Bullying, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Stalking, Blood, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
dazzle_spider_reader_1212's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infertility, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Addiction, Medical content, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Trafficking, and Vomit
b00kish_lady's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Murder, Gun violence, Confinement, Violence, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, and Medical content
moonchild_cos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Grief, Body horror, Gaslighting, Death, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, and Misogyny
Minor: Alcohol, Medical content, Pregnancy, Child abuse, and Vomit
pvbobrien's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Murder, and Confinement
Minor: Alcohol, Child abuse, Infertility, Medical content, Trafficking, Death, Emotional abuse, and Gun violence
sarah984's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Even at the end I was totally unclear on how book eating was supposed to work. The characters' homes are full of intact books and they have fangs so I assumed they drained the book's "essence" or something, but later a character is putting ketchup on one, or soaking it in water to make it easier to eat. Book eating is always sort of elided, which is kind of funny because mind eating (a sort of mutation that some book eaters have that requires them to eat brains) is so vividly described on multiple occasions.
The characters all sound the same and half the book is characters describing events that have already happened to each other, so there isn't much suspense until right at the end. There is one problem that hangs over the characters for most of the runtime but then is IMMEDIATELY solved the second it actually comes up, which felt kind of pointless.
The romance is terrible; the characters barely talk and suddenly the kid is calling them girlfriends. This woman is the only one the main character really interacts with, which is sort of weird for a book billing itself as feminist. She looks at most other women with either pity or scorn. There is an extremely weird chapter where characters quote the dictionary definition of asexuality at each other that ends up being almost insulting, and the "I ruined a baby with my son's Autism Beam" bit was ridiculous.
I have no idea what the book was trying to say: parental love can be self destructive? Fairy tales destroy the imagination? The author really likes Tomb Raider and needs to make sure we know it?
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, Xenophobia, Medical content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, and Vomit
Minor: Car accident and Child death