Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

Near the Bone by Christina Henry

27 reviews

nrogers_1030's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement and Miscarriage

Minor: Cursing, Infertility, Pedophilia, Rape, and Torture

Rapes are not detailed.

jadziad97's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

chemicalpink's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Physical abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

graveyardreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

stephanieluxton's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The atmosphere in this book is fantastic. There's a couple frightening scenes in the beginning and I wish that tone was maintained more throughout the second half of the book. The ending was fine but I think it could have been better. Overall, I did really enjoy the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Blood

Minor: Drug use, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder

mapscitiesandsongs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? No

2.0

All in all this reading experience was disappointing, especially because BooksandLala recommended the book in one of her videos. The most annoying part of this book were the characters. They felt so unrealistic and one-dimensional. William is your typical abusive and religious lunatic that wants his wive all to himself and beats her up for disrespecting him/not being a good wife. I honestly didn‘t buy it. There was not depth to his character. He is just an archetype. Kiran Millwood Hargrave did a much better job at depicting an abusive and religious husband in The Mercies.  On a different note, what were those reactions and dialogs in the most terrifying moments?

A monster throws a human heart through the window? You know what, let's make grilled cheese. Your best friend gets strung up on a tree by his organs? I suddenly feel hungry and want some eggs. Like what?

  No human would react like that. Also what was the point of the whole scene with Mattie and C.P. in the cabin?

There is a creature and a kidnapper out there and they are having these chill conversations without paying attention to the very obvious threat outside. And what was William doing outside all the time? Were did he go? Why didn't the creature hunt him too when he was already injured and that creature supposedly only attacks weak/injured humans? It doesn't make any sense.

The ending was just the cherry on top. It was so rushed and we don't even find out what exactly the monster is. During some parts I felt like the monster was just some metaphor for William which would have made the story that much more interesting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Vomit, and Pregnancy

kris_t97's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.5

Very well-paced book showing the darkness of humanity and the unknown.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Torture, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

There are a lot of graphic themes in this story, so I wouldn't recommend it if these themes are triggering. More of the main character's background is shown later on, but from the first page, there is a lot of dangerous and problematic behaviour experience by her.

archaicrobin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I absolutely love myself a good creature feature, especially one so well written! In this winter horror novel, Mattie finds herself prey to not only her “husband” who has held her captive and abused her for years, but she is also suddenly the prey of a strange and vicious creature that has made the caves near her cabin it’s home. When some cryptozoologists stumble across Mattie and William’s cabin they also stumble across the creature, and Mattie’s struggle to survive takes another turn. 

I loved Mattie as a character as well as the cryptozoologists she meets. You want them to survive! This was a great blend of creature feature and survival horror that I could not put down. Highly recommend reading Near the Bone for the perfect winter horror vibes!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

howlinglibraries's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Every time I think I can't possibly love Christina Henry even more, she releases another book that blows me away and proves me wrong. Near the Bone is quite possibly my favorite thing I've read from her so far, and I can easily see it landing in my favorite books of the year list. This book was shocking, captivating, and utterly unputdownable — literally, I wasn't even willing to take a break for dinner until I finished it, and ended up inhaling the entire book in one sitting because I was so drawn in that I had to know what would happen next right this moment.

Near the Bone is a tough read at its core, as it follows Mattie, a woman who is trapped in a brutal marriage that is abusive in every possible sense of the word. Christina Henry doesn't shy away from showing the ugly details, but it never feels overly gratuitous, either (and the sexual abuse is off-page, which many readers like myself will undoubtedly appreciate).Mattie is beaten down, but not broken, and her spirit is incredibly brave beneath the veneer of timidity she displays to keep herself safe. I loved Mattie so much and I think that's a big part of why Near the Bone held me captive so well: I needed Mattie to make it, and I couldn't look away until her fate played out.

This is a monster story, sure — there's a fantastic, eerie creature that stalks the residents and animals of the secluded mountain Mattie lives on — but I would caution readers not to go into this story expecting a full-blown creature feature. At its core, Near the Bone strikes me more as a commentary on abuse than anything else: the world abuse survivors live in, the ways that abuse can create a fear and trauma that stalks their daily life, and the reactions on-lookers have, whether it's victim-blaming, or undying love and support.

I have more I want to say, but all of it is spoiler-y, so click the tag at your own risk:

I was fascinated by the monster's refusal to attack Mattie herself, and quickly theorized that perhaps the monster had been seeing the abuse as it happened and was attempting to protect her in its own way. We learned at the end that the monster was simply a parent protecting its young, and with Mattie being barely an adult herself, I still think, just maybe, that the "monster" was Mattie's greatest ally in the end. Even when it took her companions, it seemed to specifically target whoever might be standing between Mattie and her freedom at any given time, and that feels significant to me.

Back to the point, though: truly, I adored every single page of this heart-wrenching, suspenseful read. With a heroine I cheered for every step of the way, a villain I loathed with every fiber of my being, and a beautiful, intense wintry scenery that gave me chills despite the warmth and safety of my home, Christina Henry absolutely blew away every (already high) expectation I had and made Near the Bone a powerful and memorable story that I already can't wait to re-visit.

✨ Representation: a side character is Asian (briefly mentioned)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death and Gun violence

chelsea_court's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Gaslighting

Minor: Child abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Death of parent