Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

34 reviews

kri13's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

Although I enjoyed the pacing, mood and general take on vampirism , this book failed to meet expectations. 
Writing: at points there was an over use of certain adjectives, the writing for action scenes were also poorly written,  body language was poorly described
Plot: overuse of certain plot devices, poor organization of key scenes damaging impact of most important points in the story
Characters:  not fully developed, growth and movties unconvincing
Overall,  I liked it,  but wouldn't recommend to anyone else. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, and Alcohol

lila_laune's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction

written_in_mold's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is a vampire book the way Dracula and Camilla are vampire books. It takes its genre to the base elements, blood, manipulation, power dynamics, and so much more. It is amazing. Every character is complex and you can understand them even if you hate them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Cursing, Incest, Infidelity, and Kidnapping

junejunejulyjuly's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

crybabybea's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Nothing crazy. Not bad, not amazing. Just a fun, twisty read with some good horror moments.

I wanted a bit more out of pretty much every part of this. For the first time I actually felt like this book was too short to accomplish a really good payoff. For some reason it felt simultaneously way too slow during the beginning and then way too fast at the end. I was especially disappointed by the characters and how quickly the relationships move. Marion was a bit of a confusing character considering her backstory, and Lisavet was almost compelling but just fell a bit short for me. I did enjoy the relationships between Marion and the other girls but still felt like they were quite flat.

The plot itself is interesting and there is just enough mystery threaded through the story that it keeps your interest. I can't say that the twist itself was particularly surprising, but I still enjoyed the journey there and the resolution after. 

There are a couple sapphic moments but the relationship is incredibly imbalanced power-wise and abusive, so don't expect a good time in the average sense of the word :)

The ending gave me Sucker Punch vibes which was cool.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement and Gaslighting

Minor: Incest

Do NOT read this if you have a fear of needles. Also the cat does not die.

michellec9's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Blood

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Mental illness, Sexual content, and Torture

brysonsmommie84's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Torture, Blood, Cannibalism, and Classism

Teeth… loss and detailed pulling of…

squisheebee_'s review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Classism

Minor: Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

shannonvonpesach's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

Het verhaal is te vaag. Het is totaal niet duidelijk of het om vampieren gaat of edelen die koekoek zijn.

Het eind gevecht met het 'poppen' van de kaak en de arousel? Nee...

Ik ben dit gaan lezen vanwege de marketing over Elisabeth of Báthory, maar dit is slechts een inspiratie geweest voor het karakter en heeft er 0 mee te maken.

Ps: dit is een YA schrijfstyle dus geen adult boek.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

that_guy_bo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Many of the reviews I'd read about this book focused heavily on the sapphic elements, so as a gay man, I wasn't sure if this one was "for me." But, the blurb had intrigued me, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
 And I have to say, this was one of the most gripping books I've ever read!

 I've raved about it to anyone and everyone at every possible opportunity, because it really doesn't matter what your sexual orientation is, this is an entrancing book.

  The scenery is dripping with every possible luxury, which makes the slowly mounting horror of the story stand that much starker against the decadent backdrop.

Additionally, as a huge fan of vampires, while this isn't technically a vampire story, it has all the trappings of one, and it certainly has the atmosphere! So if you're a fan of vampires, you'll very likely love this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Medical content, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Self harm, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Classism