Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Extasia by Claire Legrand

8 reviews

lvjysunday's review

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Gore, Physical abuse, and Death

Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Minor: Grief and Animal death

This book deals with a lot of heavy topics.

storykeeper_saga's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Child death, Child abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Gun violence, Misogyny, Body horror, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Blood

sarah984's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

1.0

I was so excited to read this because I loved Sawkill Girls but this book did not work for me.

First of all I think it's kind of cowardly to set this book in the context it winds up being set in and not explicitly make the cult religion Christianity. The society isn't described particularly well; the book is so long and drags on but so many things are glossed over so there's not much of an idea what their everyday life is like. I kind of wish that Amity had had a few "normal" visitations and other duties as a saint before it all hit the fan.

The characters are all cardboard cutouts (the only one I found mildly interesting was the

Spoiler

second POV character

and she's only in a couple of chapters near the end), the witches feel pointless (their entire role could easily have been fulfilled by other characters who were already present) and the romance is very silly.

The magic system isn't well set up and basically just works however the plot needs it to. The plot itself just does whatever to get to the next point - I never understood why Amity was so set on meeting the devil in the first place.

Also it's annoying going into a book that says it's about revenge and righteous anger and then having the message be that we need to be nice to bigots because maybe they don't know that racism and misogyny are bad. I almost wish racism hadn't come up at all because it's handled so clumsily

Spoiler

- there are like 3 (marginally) important Black characters because the founders of Amity's cult were white supremacists, but of those characters 1 dies and 1 is a villain, and since Amity only even found out Black people existed like last week the cult's racism isn't super plot relevant. Two different revolutions happen basically off page so the author doesn't have to try and explain how they did that without hurting anyone's feelings.

Also the sequel hook was stupid. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Bullying, Cannibalism, Confinement, Grief, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Racism, and Self harm

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Vomit, and War

archaicrobin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.0

I was a little weary after hearing this was YA because every YA I read usually ends up being some cliche love triangle filled with tropes, so I was happily surprised when Extasia was so visceral and original. 

Set in a misogynistic utopia of the future called Haven, Amity is a devout follower of God, even allowing herself to be beaten weakly to atone for her womanly sins. However, once she stumbles upon a coven in the woods and her own powers, Amity starts to realize that everything she once believed is a lie. 

Extasia does not shy away from the horror in Haven, and at times I had to remind myself that yes even though I just read about someone’s bones being snapped in half this is a YA book! It was genuinely eerie and disturbing, and the characters were not only lovable but diverse! So much representation in this book, and it’s done so well. 

I highly recommend this one! Only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars, is because towards the end the story tends to drag on and I feel like it could have ended much 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Sexism, Death, Domestic abuse, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Body horror, Sexual violence, Violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse

jednakniekinga's review

dark tense medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Religious bigotry, Torture, Physical abuse, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Death, Child death, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Confinement, and Infidelity

Minor: Homophobia and Sexual harassment

midnightgremlin's review

dark emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Infidelity, Homophobia, Blood, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, and Physical abuse

lady_moon's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

While reading, I was thinking that this is a total 5 stars read... Until the ending came. Like, it was reasonable and it's my fault I don't like dystopian's stuff that much. But after they found Hope everything went kinda meh for me. Maybe, maybe, if it wasn't for the Jaime's chapter, I would have considered giving it 5 stars anyway but it just... It was so unnecessary. I do not want a sequel. Part of Extasia's charm is that it's a standalone. I did not need this kind of epilogue. Took off the epilogue from Jaime's POV and the book will be perfect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Misogyny, Death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Suicide, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

thebookishvalkyrie's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

4.5

This is a haunting story that will keep you thinking about it long after you’ve finished reading it. The prose are beautifully creepy. The horror elements are visceral, hooking into your subconscious and lingering on the edges of your conscious mind. The sapphic witchy vibes are exactly what I hoped for. The end is satisfying. Though there was a moment where I worried that the twist was tired one - but it’s been spun into something new and I enjoyed it in the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Violence, Body horror, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, War, and Grief

Minor: Racism