anouverlinden_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
You can definitely see the influence/inspiration of American Psycho but make it feminist, which is the best thing you can come up with. As disturbing as Maeve is, I weirdly grew fond of her and was extremely distrought by the ending.
Spoiler
You would think one wouldn't get attached to two killers, who happen to find one another and have a promising future together. Well, I did grow extremely fond of them and was even rooting for them, which is pretty fucked up if you think about it but it also made the ending even worse than it may have been when I wasn't so attached to them. Maeve really grossed me out with what she did to people (but that's what I signed up for) yet the fact she got back together with Gideon made me as happy as would I have been reading a romance. When he said 'Maeve, me too' but she still killed him, I couldn't function anymore. My brain was shut down and I was in disbelief of what I just had read. Why should that have been the ending? Why do authors do this? The ending is really similar to a tragedy (in my opinion, the ending makes this a tragedy) and I hate it (but also love at the same time because it makes me feel this way)Yeah, this book really is one of my new favorites.
Graphic: Cannibalism, Blood, Physical abuse, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Sexual violence, Torture, Murder, and Violence
bakerhi's review
- 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
4.5
Couldn’t stop reading it. But oh boy.
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Violence, Death, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Murder, Kidnapping, and Gore
jctur2's review
- 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
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
vixenreader's review
- 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
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
- 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
Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Gore, and Torture
Moderate: Blood, Violence, Sexual content, and Drug use
miranda_graham's review
- 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
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Gore, Blood, Death, Murder, Kidnapping, and Torture
seawarrior's review
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Torture, Gore, Sexual violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Murder, Grief, and Drug use
behindherpages's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Murder, Sexual assault, Torture, Body horror, Drug use, Violence, Gore, Alcohol, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Gaslighting
sadpear's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Death, Violence, Torture, Murder, Blood, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
fangirljeanne's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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