Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Leech by Hiron Ennes

44 reviews

hmstaab's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Excrement, and Colonisation

fionamclary's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.75

This book has one of the most fascinating concepts I've ever encountered. I spent the first chapter so confused about what was going on, and then the next chapter cleared it all up and I was floored, and so excited to see how the premise would develop. It did not disappoint. Leech is a clever, fierce, and disturbing exploration of the ways in which people have their bodily autonomy taken from them and they ways in which they take it back. It also raises the question of to what degree our bodies are truly our own.

I often struggle with stand-alone SFF because I find that there is not enough room for the requisite world-building, but Hiron Ennes populated this book with numerous small lines that fit seamlessly into the narrative and yet did wonders to flesh out the world.

I did find that the pacing changed rather suddenly about 2/3 of the way through, from a contemplative dread punctuated by brief bursts of action, to suddenly everything kicking off, with revelations and major plot developments happening left and right. This sharp change is my only real quibble with the book.

Bonus: This book has a nonspeaking major character who is never portrayed as needing to be "fixed." There's also just casually a trans old man side character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cursing, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gore, Miscarriage, and Suicide

pantaruja's review against another edition

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Drug use, Genocide, Suicide, and Dysphoria

purplekat's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Rape, and Medical content

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Miscarriage and Pregnancy

gilroi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

 I feel strange for not having more to say about this book, other than it's genuinely some of the best speculative fiction / fantasy / scifi / horror (pick one) I've read in years. It's a smooth, sleek little novel that knows exactly what it's doing and does it. While it's not perfect, I can't think of any flaw great enough to bring up in this review.

I think what I appreciate most about this novel is how much it trusts its readers, how confident it is with what it's trying to do. The twists aren't mindfucks, all reveals are telegraphed well in advance. Every change seems earned, all the dread is meaningful, and in the last sliver of the novel it goes from genre to literary, elegantly straddling both qualifiers to say something interesting, detailed, new, and worthwhile about identity, colonialism, gender, and medicine.

I cannot recommend it enough if you like a story bright with darkness, full of intention, inventive prose, lush worldbuilding, and smart narration. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Colonisation

Minor: Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Dysphoria, and War

a1exander's review against another edition

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: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

ichewonpushpins's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, and Abandonment

Horrible Gothic horror brutality told with a dry, clinical tone. This book was a bizarre and shockingly violent ride.

harpysnark's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book answers the question, what if Tamsyn Muir wrote a gothic horror novel set in a post-apocalyptic society as told by a hivemind symbiote? It's gross, it's cryptic, it's heartbreaking. I fucking loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Vomit, and Grief

luthienslibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Fire/Fire injury

apiecalypsejen's review against another edition

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Medical content

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment