stephanieluxton's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I wanted to love this book but it was totally different than what I imagined it to be.
It was kind of like The Shape of Water meets Little Shop of Horrors.
I did love the main character. She's an old widow who is just trying to live in peace but is being bullied into selling her home by a billionaire who wants to bulldoze the town and build a resort, basically.
Then she discovers a creature on the beach and her life changes.
Something I really hated in this book was the cruelty between humans. It was intense and I just can't fathom people behaving this was towards eachother.
Some of the gorey parts were written in a way that was almost comical which felt out of place amongst the generally serious tone of the story.
The ending was fine. I wish things had played out a little different but overall it was fair. There were some parts that were quite clever.
It was kind of like The Shape of Water meets Little Shop of Horrors.
I did love the main character. She's an old widow who is just trying to live in peace but is being bullied into selling her home by a billionaire who wants to bulldoze the town and build a resort, basically.
Then she discovers a creature on the beach and her life changes.
Something I really hated in this book was the cruelty between humans. It was intense and I just can't fathom people behaving this was towards eachother.
Some of the gorey parts were written in a way that was almost comical which felt out of place amongst the generally serious tone of the story.
The ending was fine. I wish things had played out a little different but overall it was fair. There were some parts that were quite clever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Body horror, Bullying, Classism, Death, Sexual violence, Violence, and Misogyny
Minor: Drug use, Toxic relationship, Suicide, and Gun violence
downtown_kb's review
dark
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-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? No
4.0
The townspeople of Witchaven are being harassed to sell their property to an evil billionaire tycoon who is trying to build a golf course. As things escalate to violence, a strange creature appears on the beach one day and Muriel McAuley rescues it.
If you can get past large piles of violence and gore this book has a dark and twisted but sweet monster romance with some poignant commentary thrown in the mix. It was a wild gorey ride.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Vomit, Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Grief and Sexual content
addiclaire's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Violence, Blood, Death, and Gore
jaedia's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book was great. We follow a lovely old Scottish lady called Muriel who is being harrassed by the Grant Organisation, a company own by an American billionaire who has bought out most of Muriel's little home village by the sea to destroy the landscape and build a golf course. He's your basic Trump/Musk/Murdoch guy who thinks money can buy him everything. Nasty piece of work. All Muriel wants to do is live out the rest of her life in peace, but the machines changing her landscape run day and night and it seems every day, another friend takes the money and leaves. Muriel refuses. And then one day she makes an odd discovery that set the wheels of change into motion...
The Haar is a beautiful story with a lot of gore. It's intense, wondrous, and the perfect length. I will have to check out who of Sodergren's stuff!
The Haar is a beautiful story with a lot of gore. It's intense, wondrous, and the perfect length. I will have to check out who of Sodergren's stuff!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Sexism, Sexual content, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Murder, Misogyny, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Gore, and Animal death
Moderate: Kidnapping, Alcohol, Ableism, Classism, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Bullying, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, and Gun violence
ashleyxx8's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Body horror, Blood, and Cannibalism
franzys_whip's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
5.0
I cried so much. Such a well written book. Perfectly describes the horrors of aging, loneliness, industrialization, and corruption. Also Avalon was legitimately funny and I will die on that hill. While unexpected for me, I love the direction the ending took!
Also the cover art is by Trevor Henderson???? Literal perfection. Read this book.
Also the cover art is by Trevor Henderson???? Literal perfection. Read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Violence, Cursing, Gore, Body horror, Murder, Classism, and Death
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Bullying, Grief, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, and Sexual content
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Dementia, Lesbophobia, and Xenophobia
the minor content warnings are like VERY minor, i just thought they were worth mentioningjalecd's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This novel takes body horror to a level I had never even conceived and yet somehow still told a wonderful story of love, aging, and remembering the things that matter. Muriel is an icon of the ages, and such a joy of a protagonist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Violence, Body horror, Cursing, Excrement, Murder, Blood, Death, Gore, Gun violence, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Dementia, and Vomit
jasonsweirdreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
The HAAR by David Sodergren is my first read by the author. I'm glad that I choose The HAAR because it is a little on the weird side, it's quite gory in parts, it's a lot of fun, and it's a surprisingly touching story about love and loss.
The story is about Muriel McAuley, an old widow who wants to be left alone but a big corporation is buying up all the land of the Scottish coastal town she grew up in to build a golf course. The million-pound offers to buy her property are now turning into threats. Muriel then finds a sea creature with unique powers and it becomes a game changer.
The characters are mostly solid, especially our heroes. The bad guys, mainly the villains, do become what you might think of as "typical", but they really didn't need that much fleshing out. The story is all from Muriel's pov with the villains playing a smaller role. The story is more about Muriel trying to stay where she belongs, to spend the rest of her life with what remains of her friends, to die where she was born. Most of all, to heal from the loss of her husband. The story is a reminder: don't take advantage of life, of the ones you love the most because no one is exempt from the final destination.
The HAAR is a fun fast read. I highly recommend it.
The story is about Muriel McAuley, an old widow who wants to be left alone but a big corporation is buying up all the land of the Scottish coastal town she grew up in to build a golf course. The million-pound offers to buy her property are now turning into threats. Muriel then finds a sea creature with unique powers and it becomes a game changer.
The characters are mostly solid, especially our heroes. The bad guys, mainly the villains, do become what you might think of as "typical", but they really didn't need that much fleshing out. The story is all from Muriel's pov with the villains playing a smaller role. The story is more about Muriel trying to stay where she belongs, to spend the rest of her life with what remains of her friends, to die where she was born. Most of all, to heal from the loss of her husband. The story is a reminder: don't take advantage of life, of the ones you love the most because no one is exempt from the final destination.
The HAAR is a fun fast read. I highly recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Gore, Body horror, Blood, and Death
wolfism's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.5
I'm glad I went into this without knowing what was to come, it was a total random choice for me. Good story! A grievance I have is that the antagonists felt a little too cartoonish in their douchebaggery for my taste. Its strength definitely lied elsewhere and I can't really speak of it without spoiling, but it made for an unexpected light-heartedness and bittersweetness among the body horror - and man am I ever weak for bittersweetness. I sure wish I had someone to talk to about this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Murder, Blood, Cursing, Violence, and Body horror
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Grief
Minor: Animal death and Sexual content
inkdrinkers's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
"Was she all that remained, the last page of the scrapbook, waiting to be filed away for future generations to ignore?"
Muriel Margaret McAuley, a young woman of only 84, refuses to sell her cottage on the Scottish coast. It's the home where she had her children, where she waited for her fisherman husband to come home each evening from the sea - and she will not see it razed to build a golf course. But when she stumbles upon a creature in the fog one evening, she discovers a way to revisit her past and seal her future.
This was nothing short of incredible. I picked this up on a whim because I needed a palette cleanser and heard that it was body horror + gore + monster romance. It's definitely not the monster romance that is currently trending, but it was so impeccably done I'm in a little bit of a stupor after binge reading it in one sitting. There were so many truly wonderful aspects to this novella and I think I might be forever changed by Muriel and Avalon's story.
I don't want to give anything away about this plot. It's the kind of book I'd encourage you go in blind to. I will say - do NOT pick this up if you don't have a strong stomach. It's absolutely packed full of gore, body horror, description of death and bodies and dismemberment, and contains uncomfortable scenes. BUT I would HIGHLY recommend this for fans of Guillermo Del Toro (Shape of Water especially) and classic horror. It's just so well crafted, cozy and bloody.
Content warnings: Violence, Body horror (so SO MUCH. Do not read this if you cannot tolerate blood and viscera), Death, Gore, Torture, Forced institutionalization (threat of, doesn't happen), Animal cruelty/Animal death (chickens are murdered), Sexual content (vague/one scene where consent is blurry/toes the line of sexual violence)
Muriel Margaret McAuley, a young woman of only 84, refuses to sell her cottage on the Scottish coast. It's the home where she had her children, where she waited for her fisherman husband to come home each evening from the sea - and she will not see it razed to build a golf course. But when she stumbles upon a creature in the fog one evening, she discovers a way to revisit her past and seal her future.
This was nothing short of incredible. I picked this up on a whim because I needed a palette cleanser and heard that it was body horror + gore + monster romance. It's definitely not the monster romance that is currently trending, but it was so impeccably done I'm in a little bit of a stupor after binge reading it in one sitting. There were so many truly wonderful aspects to this novella and I think I might be forever changed by Muriel and Avalon's story.
I don't want to give anything away about this plot. It's the kind of book I'd encourage you go in blind to. I will say - do NOT pick this up if you don't have a strong stomach. It's absolutely packed full of gore, body horror, description of death and bodies and dismemberment, and contains uncomfortable scenes. BUT I would HIGHLY recommend this for fans of Guillermo Del Toro (Shape of Water especially) and classic horror. It's just so well crafted, cozy and bloody.
Content warnings: Violence, Body horror (so SO MUCH. Do not read this if you cannot tolerate blood and viscera), Death, Gore, Torture, Forced institutionalization (threat of, doesn't happen), Animal cruelty/Animal death (chickens are murdered), Sexual content (vague/one scene where consent is blurry/toes the line of sexual violence)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Gore, Blood, and Body horror
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Animal death, and Sexual content