Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Before the Devil Breaks You, by Libba Bray

12 reviews

allisonsmith120's review

dark emotional informative mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Antisemitism, Sexual content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Domestic abuse, and Rape

Minor: Medical trauma

grexcarolinii's review

slow-paced

0.5

This probably would have been closer to a 2.5
but I had to take away 1 star for the incredibly triggering r*** scene written in second person - you know, just to add to the triggering effects (note: none of the rest of the book was written in 2nd person, nor has any of the previous novels. I can only assume the author did this to add to the disgust of the scene, so at best is exploitative and gross, at worst it's downright malicious). 

A second star taken away for just the casual mention of having a side characters love interest in Confederate costuming. For a book/series that likes to touch and try to wrestle with the problems of 1920s America - this felt so gross and tone death. How in the same book can you have the slaves of ghosts, references to the Jim Crows laws, and then just have a guy show up in Confederate uniform like it's just... fine?
No. Absolutely not. 

Add to this a host of kinda unlikeable characters, not a whole lot of plot for a 546 page book
And far, far too many really awkward gross sex scenes to boot... 

The half a star is literally for having a single Ace character, that's it

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault

Moderate: Antisemitism, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Sexual content

Notably: the rape scene is written in second person

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

 I enjoyed this more than the first two books, and holy crap the last 1/4 of the book! So much action, and some things I really didn't like, especially how one character is kind of just forgotten by the author. But I did find some of the more annoying/less-likable characters more tolerable and even likable in this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Blood, Xenophobia, Stalking, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Animal death, Murder, Racism, Domestic abuse, Violence, Gun violence, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Torture, Grief, Gore, Ableism, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Hate crime, Police brutality, and Sexual content

justagrlandherdog's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I definitely liked this one better than the previous one. While unlike the first two books this one didn’t have a true mystery the kids were racing to solve but I loved the growth and expansion you get of each of them. There were still moments I didn’t expect and a few where my heart was racing a bit. It did feel as if it dragged on a bit in the beginning, these books are long, almost, I feel, unnecessarily. Overall enjoyed it.  

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, and Violence

squrrlgrrl's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content

ellanarose's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Hate crime, Racism, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Violence

larareads's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Antisemitism, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual assault

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, and Xenophobia

peytonktracy's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

So this installment of The Diviners series was a bit of a slog to get through but only because the already large cast started getting a lot more individual attention in their growth arcs and personal narratives in addition to really hitting the pavement towards the climax of the overarching plot against the Biggest Baddest Villain behind all the smaller, Still Bad But Not That Bad Villains. It's a lot to pay attention to - I think we had something like 14 characters who we got perspectives from at multiple points throughout the narrative, not including the four-ish camps of villains. It was a lot to keep track of, but it does lend itself to a very interesting vision of the main plot and the interactions between the characters because you get such comprehensive perspectives of everything and everyone. And I will also say, the characters are beautifully diverse in every way - a variety of races, sexualities, religious backgrounds, disabilities, socio-economic statuses, citizenship status, belief systems, attitudes towards institutions in this country, even ages. And that has always been appreciated in this series.

But the bulk of the marks against this book was how much I wished for some content warnings. This book took a turn for the serious (not that it hasn't always been serious) but several caught me completely off guard in vulnerable moments because they came with so little warning and one in particular put me off continuing this book for a month or so. And at the end

Spoiler

Bray decided to go all George R. R. Martin/J. K. Rowling in Deathly Hallows on us and just murder like four people in the span of a few chapters that was a little surprising and unexpected.

Not that I think that writing choice was a problem or problematic but it was tonally inconsistent with where the book had been and so was just pretty surprising. 

All this to say though, I've already checked out and started the final installment and had no qualms about doing so. I'm ready to GO.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Colonisation, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, and Rape

Minor: Homophobia and Slavery

emilyplun's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Ableism, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Police brutality

Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Slavery

genny's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Whew, okay, how do I review this one? It was much more somber than I anticipated. This time there's no big mystery at the forefront, so while I'm glad we're finally seeing more of the whole "King of Crows" business, I feel like this lacked the structure (and whimsy) of the first two books. The revelations about Project Buffalo felt like a punch to the gut, and my opinions about certain characters went through a rollercoaster (looking at you, Bill Johnson!).

In other words: this hurt my heart. I loved that we finally got to see more of Mabel's perspective, though this did feel detached from the rest of the story. Her struggle with morality as she fights the good fight? How she both missed and resented Evie, and all that she represented? So good. I'm a little bitter that we won't see how she could've reconciled these inner conflicts.

Spoiler

Because, if you clicked on this and thus aren't afraid of spoilers, she dies. Holding the hand of a person who, for all his faults, really did love her. Again: ow, my heart. Bray just straight up killed main characters in the last 10% of the book, damn!

I don't even know how to feel about Jericho anymore (do read the content warnings...). That's not to say that everything's doom and gloom! We still get plenty of humor and the beautiful friendships between the cast (and Theta being a badass). As always, Sam's romance with Evie was a personal highlight.

I listened to the audiobook - amazing voice work, as expected. I will likely reread the entire series in print one day. I'm a bit scared of book 4 because I've heard its the weakest, and that's never a good thing to hear about a series' conclusion. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, and Violence

Moderate: Antisemitism, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Police brutality, and Racism

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Homophobia

Eugenics is discussed multiple times, with proponents advocating for racist, homophobic, and ableist beliefs. A character gets threatening messages from their abuser, who eventually tracks them down and acts controlling/threatening. Two female characters are forcefully kissed; one scene is more graphic, as the woman is attacked and held down. The diviners visit an asylum; some patients are there willingly, some aren't. A character shares that their mother suffered from a mental illness. Another character reminisces about their mother dying from cancer.