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esme_may's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Gun violence, Infertility, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Homophobia, Incest, and Trafficking
tinyjude's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Blood, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Drug use, Incest, Infertility, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury
zombiezami's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Stalking, Car accident, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child death and Incest
Eugenicsidontlovejessica's review against another edition
Graphic: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
sammirosewater's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Miscarriage, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abortion
bubbly_lara's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The setting, atmosphere and mood were very dark and gloomy, but in a good way (reminded me a bit of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's "Mexican Gothic").
I really liked the story, the characters and the writing style. Highlighted quite a lot of quotes, I'll put three further down below.
The themes of chosen/found family and trying to find who you are as a person outside of the people you grew up with, what is expected of you vs the pursuit of what makes you happy deeply resonated with me.
Highly recommend if you're looking for a slightly spooky, rather dark and grim story of a young mother trying to break her son and herself free from familial chains and expectations, hoping to one day have a better life for themselves.
"Memory was an anchor. It could ground you in a storm, keep you from drifting.
But anchors could also weigh you down and keep you from sailing free."
"For here was the thing that no fairy tale would ever admit, but that she understood in that moment: love was not inherently good."
"- What price do you put on love?
- No price. There isn't one. Love doesn't have a cost. It's just a choice you make."
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Rape, Torture, Trafficking, and Outing
_nika_'s review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.5
I also found the premise very intriguing, i only wish we’d learn more about the book eaters backstory.
It also wasn’t as spooky as i would’ve liked but that may just have been a result of going into it expecting a straight up horror story when it’s more a thriller. This novel is more about motherhood, womanhood, and humanity, and less about the actual concept of mind & book eaters. If you go in with that as your expectations it’s for sure an enjoyable story, personally i just would’ve preferred a deeper dive into social & moral commentary on the idea of mind eaters. However the characters were well written, three-dimensional and i adore that there’s lesbian and ace representation. My favourite character was probably Hester, i loved her personality and i would’ve loved reading more about her.
I could definitely see myself rereading this in the future.
Moderate: Incest, Rape, Torture, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child abuse
ocean_the_reader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I was confused on how book eating even worked because when they said they ate books it sounded like they both physically ate it and read it. And it was never even really explained.
The only reason I didn't dnf this was because I found the past time line much more interesting than the present one. Since it had stuff actually happening. It could have been a novel in its own.
I was just very bored the whole time since next to nothing happened for most of the book.
Moderate: Alcoholism, Incest, Misogyny, Murder, and Pregnancy