stephanieluxton's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
nicesideburns's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Perfect mix of body horror, horror, gore and romance. Muriel is so likeable I feel bad for every moment she faced. Adored the romance it was a breather from the horrors. Very bittersweet
Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Gore, Excrement, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Body horror, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
urlocalsleepparalysisdemon'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I should really stop taking book recommendations from TikTok.
Spoiler
Here I was, expecting a dark, emotional, and gory folktale, and instead, I got tricked into reading a monster romance.Here's what really sucked:
Maybe I'm a cold-hearted bitch, but I couldn't feel more distant from Muriel, who, you know, I should care about as the protagonist. Which is a total shame cause I started out really vibing with her, yet she became so one-note to me that I couldn't sympathize with her anymore. I would rather have read about her being totally delusional about her situation/her going mad than whatever middle state she's in.
Avalon sucks as a monster. The weird iridescent sea blob shapeshifter could have been cool in concept, but he's either useless or seemingly overpowered and immune to harm. He's not scary; he's a plot device to get rid of the "bad" guys, and he's never a threat to Muriel, so who cares? Also, I don't need to know that he has a dick and Muriel had sex with him. Just why...
The "bad" guys are my other big issue because WHO wants to read about such flatly monstrous human beings, whom the story will so obviously punish and who will predictably be defeated by the end. None of them are believable at all, just how it's not believable that Muriel is a "good" person and that she would NEVER want Avalon to harm someone "innocent." But of course, the people Avalon harms are BAD. At least the story goes to huge lengths to convince you so, making the characters cartoonishly evil rather than flawed, greedy human beings that you could still find sympathy for.
For some reason, I hoped that this would turn out to be better. But it didn't get me in my feels, so to speak; the characters didn't charm me; even the body horror underwhelmed me, so there's not much left for me to like here. I'm sorry (not really).
TLDR:
Spoiler
Scottish Grandma fucks Sea Monster that looks like her Dead Husband, feeds him Evil People, DiesGraphic: Body horror
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Animal death and Sexual content
jaedia's review against another edition
- 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
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!
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
maryannelikescoffee's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexism, and Sexual content
ashleyxx8's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death, Body horror, Blood, and Cannibalism
wageser's review
- 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
Graphic: Gore and Body horror
franzys_whip's review
- 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
Also the cover art is by Trevor Henderson???? Literal perfection. Read this book.
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 mentioningloucadoslivros's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Vomit, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Self harm, Gore, Body horror, Grief, and Murder
shadowspinner'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? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Murder, Sexual content, Gun violence, and Fire/Fire injury