Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

17 reviews

jasper_is_atypical's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Grief, Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Self harm, Animal death, Cannibalism, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Body horror, Bullying, Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual content

Moderate: Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, and Torture

Minor: Death of parent and Incest

jashanac's review against another edition

3.5

This is a weird one, because I couldn't stop reading it, and I read it VERY quickly (in one day! Unheard of for me unless it's a novella, which this is not), so it clearly captivated my interest and curiosity... but at the same time I was left a bit wanting. 

The beginning really hooked me, but once we get to the House of Hunger I didn't feel as connected to the story or characters. This book seemed to be trying to go for a Dowry of Blood type of vibe -- exploring abusive relationships and toxic love... however, it fell pretty short in that regard for me personally. 

There definitely were "off" vibes from the Countess and she didn't seem warm & kind... but we didn't actually see much emotional manipulation and mental abuse until the very end. And we didn't really see the "how" behind Marion's sudden obsessive love for the Countess, in my opinion. She was just suddenly obsessed with her and desperate to please her and then later we were TOLD that the Countess manipulates her bloodmaids into becoming that way. But we didn't actually see it. 

The other characters also were a bit too shallow for me -- Ivor, the other bloodmaids... everyone felt pretty surface level. 

But again, I was still captivated with the intrigue and tension that was built, and I do think that the author has a lovely writing style that is pleasing to read. I think this just needed to be a little bit longer to really develop these things more. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Drug use, and Blood

maddiereadswords's review against another edition

3.5

Sapphic gothic vampire-inspired horror?? Say less. The tension and the pacing of this book is so well done, and even though I could see a few of the twists coming, the journey to get there was just so good!! It did have a little too much medical body horror (like needles and related issues) for my personal tastes, so there were some parts I had to skim to get through, but I enjoyed literally everything else about it. I relate to Marion because I, too, would risk it all for hot countess who could and would kill me. Also in case you're worried

Spoiler

the cat survives!!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Classism, Confinement, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Drug use, Gore, Trafficking, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, and Toxic relationship

birbmcbirb's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Classism, Trafficking, Murder, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Blood, Violence, Gore, Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Domestic abuse, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse and Drug use

asperomari's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

2.5

Unfortunately I didn’t like this as much as I thought I would :(

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Gore, and Body horror

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, and Murder

eldritch_archivist's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Finally the toxic lesbian vampire horror story we've been waiting for. Bit of a slow start but a tense and cinematic ending. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Cannibalism, Classism, Addiction, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement, Kidnapping, Sexual content, and Gore

Minor: Excrement and Death of parent

giulianalb99's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Ehm… ¿qué acabo de leer? 
La verdad es que el libro como tal no está mal y la pluma de la autora es espectacular pero me ha dejado un poco sin más.

Tenía unas expectativas medias tirando a altas porque la sinopsis me pareció bastante buena, pero ha acabado siendo otro libro que seguramente acabe olvidando desgraciadamente. La idea principal que es básicamente cómo la nobleza se aprovecha de los más débiles bebiendo literalmente su sangre es genial pero, durante todo el libro, no pasa absolutamente nada salvo el proceso que va tomando la relación bastante tóxica entre la protagonista y Lisavet. Estaba en el 70% y todavía no pasaba nada hasta que en los últimos capítulos BOOM, y después me he quedado en plan “¿ya está?”. Leer tantas páginas de puro aburrimiento (que repito, la autora escribe súper bien) y relleno para llegar al final y que se resuelva todo tan rápido no me ha convencido del todo.
Lo que sí me ha gustado es cómo la autora ha plasmado (de manera digámoslo extraña) cómo los ricos obtienen y hacen lo que quieren mientras se aprovechan de los que no tienen tanto para vivir, así como las cosas tan raras que pueden llegar a hacer pagando infinitas sumas de dinero.

¿Recomendaría este libro? Sí, pero no creo que sea para todo el mundo ya que contiene sangre, tortura, horror, es bastante gore, abuso de sustancias tóxicas, relación tóxica, canibalismo, muerte, y un largo etcétera. Recomiendo leáis los trigger warnings antes de empezar el libro.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Animal death, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Murder, Terminal illness, Addiction, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Blood, Bullying, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Torture, and Violence

blacksphinx'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Drug abuse, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Classism, Addiction, Bullying, Sexual content, and Confinement

Minor: Mental illness

vixenreader's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

In lieu of the legendary Elizabeth Bathory, this book has some amazing atmosphere, the prose is emotionally-wrenching, the cast of characters (led by a strong female lead) are nothing short of fascinating, and the horror is corporeal to a tee. Seriously, it’s a great book about exploitation, imbalance in relationship dynamics, and what it truly means to escape more than one toxic situation. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Addiction, Death, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Child abuse, Grief, Self harm, Trafficking, Alcohol, Drug use, Alcoholism, Confinement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Misogyny, Animal death, Forced institutionalization, and Gun violence

Be warned, there are scenes of moderately graphic lesbian sex, ageism, and how the system pits women against one another.

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Sexual content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Drug use, Body horror, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Bullying, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Medical content, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Murder, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Self harm, Torture, Violence, and Vomit