Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann

13 reviews

baocat's review

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book's most impressive achievement is taking such an un-loveable character and quickly making you invested enough to root for him at every turn. You want him to be a better person no matter how many times he lets you down, a bit like an abusive relationship with the protagonist. 

Major CW for detailed sexual-assault. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War

refrigeratorcool's review

dark tense slow-paced

• 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

3.0

It's a very well researched and detailed book. I just don't have any idea what Maria McCann was gunning for. Jacob never pays for his sins and all we see is Jacob's character descending to madness, but to what purpose? It felt like the book was dark for darkness' own sake. It was static in which Jacob's descent was inevitable and Ferris was a male ingenue and Caro was a perfect victim. Reading this book was flagellating, as if the writer derives some inane pleasure from suffering.  

It felt like so many plot lines are left unresolved and the ending felt unfinished. The tonal shifts were also jarring. The civil war seemed like it was setting up a huge plotline in the first half of the story but at the second half they just shrug it off as "time in the army". The part when they started living in the Commons was so boring because they stuffed it with so many descriptions about farming. It's just not a very exciting section, since their romance was established at that point and there were less at stake as well. So little happening other than eating rabbits until

the threat came up, and even then they proceeded to farm like usual and just waited for help.

I have multiple gripes about the ending. Despite being marketed as a dark romance focusing on Jacob and Ferris,

we have no idea what happened to Ferris in the ending. Jacob never pays for his sins either and travels to New England where he can murder and rape even more.

As a book it is not entertaining. One could argue its realism; but I would argue that this book only "dooms" the reader with no worthwhile message to deliver.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Toxic relationship

finalgirlfall's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

okay, so i didn't really understand what was happening in a lot of this book. i thought mccann's efforts to historically situate the characters were like, well-intentioned, but probably ultimately failed, for the most part. (though i haven't done any research into the period/ideas surrounding the third english civil war, so i'm not certain that my ideas about how people thought back then are actually founded in reality.)

there's a section in the book, in the chapter "bad angel", where jacob is recounting a conversation he had with ferris in the army. he says:

Perhaps one day I would be able to tell him everything, even that I was that detested being, a ravisher. I knew Ferris would not admit that her being my wife changed the case. He had already expressed himself more than once on this subject, and said no man might force a woman, no not his wife, for that it took away her bodily dignity. Whenever he talked of it he clenched his fists and jaw, and I at first concluded he must have witnessed many instances among the soldiery; yet when I asked him he said it was a thing, thank God, that he had never seen for himself.

that section in particular struck me as (probably) not grounded in the reality of the time. but this was definitely an interesting, albeit brutal, read that gave me a lot to look into on google scholar! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Sexual assault

aduqu's review

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book made me upset. It's good, it kept me entranced the whole way through, but the main character is an awful person and I spent a lot of my time reading this being disgusted with him.

Definitely recommend it for fans of dark historical dramas who don't mind an unreliable narrator! Definitely do not recommend it for anyone who likes to root for the main character, or who doesn't want to read about toxic relationships.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexism and Vomit

remimicha's review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and War

owlribbon's review

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

nowiamjim's review

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, and War

savvypotions's review

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia

marlene2112's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and War

biab00's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 Violent love eats up what it does love, and is mere appetite.

This was wild ride. The narrator is not a person that you easily sympathize (i didn't at all), you are in is head throught the whole book and by the end i just wanted to be free of this man's mind. 
Althought i hated this character most of the times, I would be lying if I said I didn't find his character fascinating to read. I do love to read books with morally grey (or really fucked up characters) like this one has, so this was a treat for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Murder, and War