Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis

30 reviews

frekdal's review against another edition

challenging mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Drug use, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Biphobia, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence

corruptednatz's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

Throughout this book all I thought was “Stop it, get help” 😂 this book has a crazy ending but the build up to it was slow and sometimes pointless. The slow parts were the main character Bret doing drugs, falling into a drug induced sleep and fantasizing about various men he can’t have. But I do see how it plays into his mental state. The really pointless points were when the author when go into tangents about movies or music from the 80s. He would go into great detail about these things but I didn’t see the point. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Torture, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Infidelity, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, and Suicide

Spoiler

there is an adult and minor relationship and it’s graphic

izzold's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Alcohol, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Blood

kryssm1121's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Animal cruelty

charvermont's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Addiction, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Animal death, Drug use, Mental illness, Vomit, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Car accident, Death, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content

dearbookshelves's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.5

If you've read BEE before, you know what you're getting into. Interesting writing and a distinct voice. Fascinating narrative choices with a twist that makes you question everything.

Spoiler

He never wants you to know what's real and what isnt and that is buzzing throughout the whole book.

Also in true Ellis fashion, it's repetitive at times and a but too long.

Bold

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Gore, Torture, and Suicide

brianareads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Violence, Sexual content, Homophobia, Murder, and Suicide

seanamcphie's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Torture, Toxic friendship, Death, Gore, Grief, Violence, Alcohol, Drug use, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Addiction

aceofknaves88's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Blood, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Mental illness, and Sexual content

Moderate: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Forced institutionalization

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I stumbled across this title because it was Book of the Month selection. 
"The Shards" follows seventeen-year-old Bret, a senior at a prestigious prep school in Los Angeles during the 1980's. When a new boy, Robert Mallory joins Bret's friend group, it feels like everyone but Bret is in love with Mallory, but Bret is convinced Mallory is hiding something. After a series of murders, Bret begins to suspect that Mallory is the serial killer targeting teenagers throughout Los Angeles. Can Bret uncover who is behind these brutal murders, or will he end up the next victim? 
This mystery is very dense and takes awhile to get into. I also often felt disconnected from the characters. The story felt like something that I was watching from a distance, not something that I was pulled into, and that factor is something I look for in mystery novels. I want to feel like I am right there with the characters and uncovering clues with them. 
Bret was a fun character to read from. Bret is struggling with his own identity and trying to figure out who he is, who he wants to be, and who he wants to surround himself with. He is also incredibly smart and quick-witted. He is definitely flawed and makes poor decisions, but that is why he is so relatable. I also really appreciated that although he is seventeen, his voice does not read like a seventeen-year-old, but he remains believable as a teenager. 
This story is very well-written, and clearly, Bret Easton Ellis is an exceptional wordsmith and very talented with his craft. I would be curious to pick up more from him in the future, but for right now I want something a little more fast-paced. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Toxic relationship, Violence, Homophobia, Bullying, Stalking, Torture, Alcohol, Murder, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Sexual content