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_scvvter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
As I've been trying to get back into the groove of reading again, the two other short novels I picked for easiness has not been the best in my eyes. Started to make me think that I was not the biggest fan of short novels. But this completely changed my tune. A horrifying but exillerating ride from start to finish, Knaw's was able to easily suck me into the world with these character I grew quite found of really quickly. The plot had me on the edge of my seat, well more like bed, waiting to find out what's gonna happen to these characters. I was actually very nervous that the characters would actually not succeed and that was a great feeling to actually have from a novel.
On critique, if you can call it that, is that a lot of words flew over my head while reading this. Looking it up to find a lot of it be medical terms for the body, so be ready for that. And some other tiny things that I got over such as
Overall, absolutely loves this book and can't wait to look for more novels by Cassandra Know
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Blood, Gore, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Pregnancy
killerqueen45's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Murder, Medical content, Body horror, and Pregnancy
kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
it got to the point where the sensorial detail even became repetitive; blood = rubies, entrails = coils/ribbons, bones = baby teeth… we get it! tons of words used over & over to the point where it almost felt like copy/paste. for a book so short it shouldn’t have been hard to come up with a word to replace “bathyal” instead of saying it over & over
neither of the leads were interesting. we were on the cusp of so many interesting details about “mermaid” lore, about human reanimation, the magical universe they are in, but the author chose to squander that on pages and pages of describing trees and skin and teeth. the romance had potential to be interesting, but again… the author chose to focus on how everything smelled and tasted for some reason
also this was an extremely loose “fairytale retelling”; I was personally okay with that, but don’t come in expecting anything detailed in that regard. Khaw doesn’t really go into detail about anything that isn’t a texture or a taste
if style over substance is your jam, this may be for you! it is firmly not mine so 2 stars trending downward. I had a similar complaint with Nothing But Blackened Teeth, so I think this author is just on the Don’t Read list for me :/ kernels of really interesting but ultimately unrealized premise seem to be the lay of the land. spent the whole book waiting for Khaw to get into the story only for there not to be a story at
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Kidnapping, Gore, Child death, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Cannibalism, Miscarriage, and Child abuse
leeghlee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, Medical content, and Violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Miscarriage
sxndaze's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Tell me: is your joy sweeter for your knowledge of what it is like to die? Do you enjoy every sunset better? Or does it stain you, follow like the whisper of a nightmare that will not end with your waking?
Gorgeously written.
Graphic: Cannibalism, Body horror, Death, Gore, and Grief
Moderate: Torture and Pregnancy
caitlinemccann's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Gore, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Torture, Murder, Medical content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Rape and Pregnancy
infinitelibrary'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Body horror, Death, Gore, Medical content, and Blood
Moderate: Torture, Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Violence, and Miscarriage
klr0's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Minor: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical content, Torture, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Body horror, Cannibalism, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Grief
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Khaw's style has clearly developed more since HAMMERS ON BONE (also excellent), and this is less of a romp than THE ALL-CONSUMING WORLD. It has their willingness to just let a story be bleak without being depressing, finding hope interwoven with death, plus a strange interlude into cult deprogramming. It is specifically a follow up to one of the stories from the collection BREAKABLE THINGS, called "And in Our Daughters, We Find a Voice". That story is included in the back of THE SALT GROWS HEAVY for anyone who needs a refresher.
THE SALT GROWS HEAVY is a truly excellent piece of horror. I’m very glad I read it. I hope you like it too.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Gore, Violence, Child abuse, Medical content, Child death, Death, Torture, Blood, Body horror, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Grief, Sexism, Vomit, Confinement, and Animal death
Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, and Miscarriage
"And in Our Daughters, We Find a Voice" - Graphic CW for blood, gore, death. Moderate CW for toxic relationship, confinement, pregnancy, miscarriage, violence, cannibalism.spadedigsbutts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
[Will add more later!]
Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Child death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Kidnapping, Misogyny, Vomit, Confinement, Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, and Pregnancy