Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Koodinimi Alice by Kate Quinn

13 reviews

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad 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? Yes

2.75

I should really stop reading Kate Quinn. I keep trying to like her books, but I'm consistently bored by them. I think it's because this and the other two I read (The Rose Code and The Diamond Eye) are all set around the same time - during, between, or after one of the world wars. I'm guessing this is her niche - world war historical fiction. I don't love the historical fiction around this time in general. I also have found myself failing to invest in any of the characters. I think I like the story arcs, but I don't feel connected to the people in the stories because I feel her storytelling is flat.

Unfortunately, I have one book of hers left to read - The Phoenix Crown, which I won in a Goodreads giveaway. At least this one is cowritten with Janie Chang. Maybe that'll be the one that I like. Nonetheless, I'll wait a while before jumping back into Kate Quinn.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

jcinf's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring 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

So good. This book was fascinating to me. I’ve heard of women spies during the wars, and I’ve actually read The Lost Girls of Paris (which I also recommend). So I’ve read a similar historical fiction book before.  

I love the intensity of the chapters. I honestly lost a lot of sleep reading this book because I couldn’t put it down. It has been a while since cliffhangers have gotten me so well. 

The characters were fantastic. The “bad guy” was truly an evil person, and I loved that. Sometimes you don’t need to build a villain out to have complexity. Sometimes evil can just be evil. Especially in a time of war. And I think in this situation, it worked great. That said, the villain wasn’t a flat character either. They never felt underdeveloped. I always knew their motivations and I think that worked so flawlessly too because of the nature of being a spy means learning someone’s nuances and what makes them tick. 

So action-packed — which I loved. But also lots of character development and character growth. 

My favorite part (not a spoiler I promise): the representation/depiction of just really cool women. Really badass, intelligent, clever, courageous, interesting women. And knowing it was all based on reality made it even cooler. 

Loved this book!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

fedoratheexplora's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Suicide, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death

anne_reader's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

kailiyahknight's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

cadybooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious medium-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

madmantha's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Beginning was a bit slow for me but once it really begins to pick up, it does not stop. 
Both narratives blend together seamlessly in the final arc; everything comes full circle.
One of my favorite epilogues ever written; really pulled on the heart-strings. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Eating disorder, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Stalking, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Religious bigotry

karolinaz's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Excrement, Vomit, and Classism

bronwyn18's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Sexual content, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Antisemitism and Abortion

whatcassiedid's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

This was a pretty heavy read but a beautiful story of the strength, resilience, and intelligence of women in war time.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, Abortion, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail