Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Maeve Fly by CJ Leede

50 reviews

jctur2's review

dark funny tense medium-paced

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

4.0

If a Disney princess was the main character in American Psycho.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Grief, Violence, Eating disorder, Stalking, Kidnapping, Blood, Body horror, Death, Excrement, Cannibalism, Drug use, Murder, Gore, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, and Torture

wyabook234's review

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Murder, Gore, and Sexual content

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Misogyny

vixenreader's review

dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Despite some over-indulgence on nihilism, this book is fun, bone-chilling, and surprisingly poignant, especially with the protagonist’s attempts at latching onto the people she cherishes the most. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, Gore, Body horror, Blood, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Bullying, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Medical content

Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Kidnapping, Fatphobia, Confinement, Physical abuse, Vomit, Drug use, Animal cruelty, and Classism

Minor: Xenophobia, Abortion, Racism, Stalking, and Rape

Be aware that there is a death of a grandparent, bodies in cellars, bones used for decorations, risky kinks and fetishes, urine, unwanted items shoved into unwilling orifices, hunger for fame, “the casting couch,” doll disfigurement, pornography, and drugging beverages for the goal of assaulting someone.

jj_tj's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Gore, and Torture

Moderate: Blood, Violence, Sexual content, and Drug use

miranda_graham's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Gore, Blood, Death, Murder, Kidnapping, and Torture

micah_thelibrarian's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Cursing

Moderate: Alcohol

seawarrior's review

dark

4.0

Maeve Fly is a disgusting, gutting novel of a young woman with bloodthirsty inclinations. It is vile in every way possible, and yet I loved being introduced to Maeve and her perverse viciousness. Leede is a talented writer in encouraging us to feel enchanted by this story, even as it grows increasingly repulsive. We understand Maeve even as we witness her at her most deplorable, and we understand that she was destined for predation, no matter how regal she once pretended to be. This is a horrific romance only for those not turned away by a sizeable ick-factor, although I couldn't in good conscience recommend it to anyone. I don't want to be held responsible for how much Maeve is sure to repulse you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Torture, Gore, Sexual violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Murder, Grief, and Drug use

howlinglibraries's review

medium-paced

1.5

 I am baffled by some of the praise going around for this book. "Extreme horror!" Okay, maybe for like, one chapter and half of another one? "Feminist horror icon!" You mean the woman who rapes nearly every victim she takes, finding especially creative ways to do so with the women?

I don't need to agree with a character's actions to like them, but aside from the previously mentioned issues, Maeve is so oblivious that it's impossible for me to get behind her as a narrator. There's a twist in this book that is painfully obvious from a million miles away, yet Maeve is taken entirely off-guard by it in the worst way. Oblivious.

Most of all, Maeve Fly is simply boring for the bulk of its duration. There's very little horror for most of the book, instead primarily focusing on Maeve's internal critique of everyone around her and a whole lotta sex.

The only major hype piece I've heard for this book that actually makes sense to me is comparing this to Palahniuk's writing style, which I'll agree with — Leede's style reminded me a lot of Chuck Palahniuk's style and I can definitely see the inspiration there (though it would be hard to miss it, given how much name-dropping happens throughout Maeve Fly, including many references to Chuck himself).

This was perhaps my single most disappointing read of 2023 so far. I would try this author's work again in the future, but don't recommend this one.

Buddy read with Reg! ♥ 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Rape, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Gore, Body horror, Sexual assault, and Torture

brookeklebe's review

dark fast-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? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, and Sexual assault

fangirljeanne's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I don’t know what it says about me that I was sad that this didn’t have a happy ending, but it is what it is.

This is a great horror novel, beautifully grotesque and emotionally raw to an uncomfortable degree. It’s very much more lit fic than in tone and execution than horror or splatter punk, though it absolutely holds its own in both genres. The experience of being a woman, especially one who doesn’t fit the unattainable hypocrisy of socially acceptable feminine ideals, is a horrific mind-bending experience.

Maeve is not unique in her weird or messiness, take out the overt violence and this would be like many other women’s lit narrative about the trauma of living under patriarchy. But here, in the framing of a horror novel this narrative feels more authentic, more autonomous compared to the passive victimhood of a lot of white women’s navel gazing fiction, at least until the end. Maeve felt like she was going to give the cliche narrative of the weird girl, the creepy girl, the femme fatale a newer better ending. One where she embraces that aspects of herself that fear of society tells her to suppress and hate. While she escapes the typical fate of “fallen women” of literature, she is still punished for refusing to conform to society. That’s the only aspect of the story I disliked. It felt like a step back after so many subversive strides forward.

I get it, this is a horror novel. Heartbreak is an important aspect of that genre. But I would also argue that few things are quite as frightening to patriarchy as a villainous woman getting everything she wants including love and acceptance. 

Highly recommended to fans of graphic horror and dark humor. If you love the movie May (2002) this book might be for you too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic friendship, Violence, Alcohol, Body shaming, Grief, Torture, Animal death, Bullying, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Cancer, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Medical content, Sexual assault, Classism, Ableism, Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Stalking, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Drug use, Excrement, Rape, Animal cruelty, Body horror, and Chronic illness