Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

De Beer en de Nachtegaal by Katherine Arden

29 reviews

saskiajva's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.5

It was definitely an interesting book and i am curious about the next one! I do think there are some things the author can hone; i wasn’t a fan of the political or marriage plot lines as it didn’t really capture my interest, and I would love to see some higher stakes. I highly recommend googling the creatures discussed while you read as it adds a lot to the book!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Forced institutionalization

kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a quick yet lush read. I love folklore so this universe was very much my cup of tea. The men in this book are disgusting and annoying in turns, which checks out for that time period and in general. 

My only complaint was that it felt like Anna’s “power” wasn’t explored much, but then I saw the dreaded word on the digital cover: trilogy. Guess I’m strapped in for more, though I think I would’ve really liked this as a stand-alone 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Self harm

kappafrog's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, and War

Minor: Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

emfass's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

 Comfort reread of one of my favorites series.

Kathleen Gati does a beautiful job as narrator, capturing the characters, the dialects, the world of medieval Rus. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Self harm, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Minor: Rape, Forced institutionalization, and Fire/Fire injury

fatherprozac's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I came into this book expecting a first person narrative focused on the female lead (similar to Uprooted) so it took me some time to get adjusted to the ever shifting perspectives. There were many times when I found myself waiting for the story to actually get going, which made chapters like Pyotr and his sons' visit to Moscow especially sluggish for me. Overall though, once the story got going I was all in. I loved Vasya's relationships with the different creatures, the characterization of Morozko, and the sheer evil/selfishness of the antagonists . I am definitely going to continue the series.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

sauvageloup's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.5

a brilliant book that i got through slowly, but through no fault of its own, i think

pros:
- stunning, lyrical, fairytale writing. simple style but really lovely in originality of description and poignant turns of phrase. the story is carried along beautifully, smoothing over time skips.
- the character development was also so good, with Konstantin descending into worse evils, Anna's rise and fall, Vasya growing into her strength while still being fallible, and my favourite, Morozko, of sleep and death. he was cold but fair, human but other, real and not, and i just loved how Arden wrote him.
- i also enjoyed the setting so much, and the historical details too. the afternotes show how much effort Arden put into historical accuracy.

cons:
- maybe a bit slow, which didn't help my lack of reading focus

looking forward to reading book 2, and glad i won't have to leave the characters :)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Sexual assault

warning for eating disorder is really for starvation and struggling to get enough to eat, descriptions of extreme weight loss.

reddeddy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Vomit, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

bluejayreads's review against another edition

dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Very similar to Spinning Silver in concept - a little village in a cold snowy place under threat from terrifying supernatural beings of the snow - with the bonuses of a protagonist who may be a witch (she's not entirely sure) and of one antagonists being the "holy man is horny and upset about it" trope (which is one of my favorite kinds of antagonists). Very atmospheric and an enjoyable reading experience, but not all that memorable. I'm on the fence about reading the rest of the series. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Blood, and Death of parent

Minor: Ableism

sarahaf712's review against another edition

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Misogyny, Self harm, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Vomit

robinsong's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail