toffishay's review
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.0
I really appreciated what this book was seeking to accomplish; even if I didn't love all of the stories individually, I appreciate this as a body of work that can help us better understand what kink is telling us when we are too busy to listen. My favorite stories were "Trust" by Larissa Pham, "Best Friendster Date Ever" by Alexander Chee, "The Lost Performance of the High Priestess of the Temple of Horror" by Carmen Maria Machado, and "The Voyeurs" by Zeyn Joukhadar.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Violence, Transphobia, Blood, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Body horror
Moderate: Incest, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Stalking, Torture, Racism, Injury/injury detail, and Infidelity
grinnoir's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Injury/injury detail
invaderlinz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.5
I enjoyed almost every story but the last, some more than others - as is the way with a lot of short story collections. I think it’s a solid collection, but not as out there as I had expected from all of its hype. I did really love reading these stories from authors I’ve found over the past few years, and seeing them write in a totally different way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Violence
Moderate: Deadnaming and Incest
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