Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Vredens gudinnor by Katie Lowe

15 reviews

pikkumarja's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

2.5

Tässä kirjassa ei varsinaisesti ollut mitään kauheaa vikaa. Premissi ja teema oli kiinnostava. Pidän tällaisesta noituutta ja akatemiaa yhdistävästä kirjallisuudesta, jossa vielä käsitellään naisten vimmaa, raivoa ja kostoja, mutta jotenkin kirja ei kuitenkaan yltänyt sinne, minne ehkä yritti yltää. Runsas päihteidenkäyttö ja muistamattomuusjaksot sekoittivat kirjaa entisestään ja loppujen lopuksi kirja tuntuu aika sekavalta.

Harmi, koska tavallaan kuitenkin viihdyin ja olisin halunnut tykätä tästä paljon enemmän.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Death of parent

anni_swanilda's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

Minor: Forced institutionalization

gondorgirl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

ifoundcallie's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Vomit, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Gore, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, and Grief

ritual sacrifice, false accusations, slut shaming

5nazzyf0x's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.25

I like it a lot ut had good rhythm and did make me want to keep reading it. I devoured it in like 2 big sittings. But it was a little disjointed in areas and when had happened to Emily Frost was a bit of a let down as I expected a way more interesting reveal as it fell kinda flat. But would I recommend the book. Yes if you like fast paced and quick books. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

bookishwitchreads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I really wanted to give this 5 stars but the ending falls flat for me. It was amazing, but the ending feels like it's there without much reason or explanation.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Murder

Minor: Gore

ashlislibrary's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder

chonkooch's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

While this was very well written and thoroughly enjoyable I did have several issues with it. The descriptive writing is gorgeous and strangely homoerotic female friendships are very much my jam. I also was a big fan of the horror elements, delicious.

However at certain crucial points the writing style made it difficult to tell what was actually going on: for example,

when the dean was dying i was exceedingly confused

and also

when robin died i had to flip back and forth a few times because i didn't understand.

i'm not 100% that a boarding school was the right setting for this? the school element did feel a little underused and the segments with annabel giving speeches were definitely the weakest parts of the book. despite the heavy emphasis i can tell we're supposed to feel on female rage/revenge i actually feel the better parts of the book are the parts that center around the complex relationships between the girls. if it was more character study and a liiiittle bit less witchcraft i think it could've been great. i also think the ending is a little bit of a cop-out. i think the book Oligarchy by Scarlett Thomas does a pretty good job of what i wish this book had done- that is, expose how insular and ingrown and fake the obsessive cult-like world of the girls is, and how this religion of girlhood-as-pain is, while very real, ultimately something you have to grow out of.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

introverted_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-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

3.5

On paper, this is my perfect book. It promised witchcraft, academia, murder, moral decay, and the arts. It did, to some extent, deliver this and I did enjoy it on the most part. If you’re a fan of books like The Secret History (Donna Tartt) or If We Were Villains (M. L. Rio), which I am, this is again a novel of secrecy, elite academic circles, murder, boundaries and transgression, and decay. After the disappearance of a previous member of the elite art group, Violet is introduced to a world of witchcraft, female anger, moral transgressions, and the pursuit of beauty above all else. Violet is swept into the turbulent dynamic of the group, lured by the promise of solidarity and companionship, and very quickly finds herself inseparable from Robin, the enigmatic best friend of the missing girl. Violet and Robin begin down a path of bloody pagan rituals and revenge, and the declination of morality is triggered. The Furies is a captivating, dark novel that is a must read for fans of the gothic or the dark academia cult (/lh) that is forever growing.

However, I feel that this book is somewhat problematic. If it were published even 10 years ago, I’d be more understanding of some of the themes/ideas within this book, but considering it was published in 2019, it is extremely concerning to see the pro-ana/pro-mia culture of the 2000-2010s finding its way into a contemporary piece of fiction. The arguably romantic depiction of this culture feels very out of place and extremely harmful. With eating disorders worryingly on the rise, and pro-ana/mia culture finding a renaissance on TikTok, I personally am concerned at the misconstrued ideas held within Lowe’s novel. For a book published in 2019 with a host of academic psychiatry resources and credible eating disorder information available online, to have such a glorified depiction of eating disorder themes doesn’t sit right with me. I feel as if there must be a reexamination of what exactly is being presented within this book, as I feel as though this could be dangerous in some hands.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

annniina98's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol