Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Определенно голодна by Chelsea G. Summers

20 reviews

tatimarie8284's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

it honestly took me a while to get into, the first day i got it i was struggling to read the first chapter because i wasn’t expecting the writing style but after i got past it it was such a page turner! couldn’t put it down! it was so uncomfortably descriptive it made it easy to put yourself in her world even though you wouldn’t want to. definitely one worth reading but not if you have a weak stomach 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

almgrenrebecka's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Cannibalism, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexual content

blackcatkai's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

1.0

CW: blood, violence, antisemitism, murder, ableism, fatphobia, food/body shaming, classism, racism (slurs and otherwise), sexual content, rape and other types of sexual assault/harassments, gore, animal cruelty and death, sexism, gaslighting, infidelity, alcohol and drug use, passages that may read a bit homophobic and/or transphobic

no. i get that it's supposed to be a satire overall and youre not meant to like the main character, but my biggest issue was how boring the entire novel is. and technically, it's only a satire in regards to the universe of food in real life, not the sexism or murder or sex or society as a whole or whatever. so maybe if it had JUST been about that, it would've been more successful for me. then the character of Dorothy would've read better with her vapid, self important, condescending, holier than thou bullshit. but not here, not when you throw in everything else.

pacing? all over the place, mainly slow. cannibalism and violence? well, its THERE, technically? but it takes forever to get to the gruesome bits and then theyre lackluster at best. this doesnt feel feminist or inclusive or a biting commentary on anything other than narcissists suck. there's also a ton of nuanced information presented in a non-nuanced way that feels like im reading an incomplete wikipedia page with no sources and missing key context. we get it, the author learned about a lot of things and wanted us to know about them, even if some info was left out, leading to what feels like misinformation, even in a fictional story.

this is more a book about gratuitous sex, fancy food, and trips to europe because its the best (except new york city, of course) than it is about cis-female empowerment, cannibalism, or violence. its repetitive use of simile, speaking down to the reader, and infodumps, left me disengaged, bored, and desperate for the end.

basically, this book was not for me, and im so glad its finally over. thank you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Blood, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Transphobia, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

autumngk's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

2.75

I honestly don’t know what I was expecting from this book-cannibalism, sure, but the nonlinear format took me by surprise. Something about it felt too reliant on shock value and grotesque tropes, but after all it is a cannibal serial killer. I don’t know if I’m just beginning to be turned off by horror novels, but this one did the trick. There were really great sections, and I mean chapters at a time where the writing was absolutely beautiful and engaging. I wish we got to know more about Dorothy’s life as the prison librarian and how that began to effect her; I can’t tell if my reservations with this book are that if felt too short and heavy/reliant on the gore to tell its story or what! We get this really nice look into her life…..

after she’s adjusted to prison life during their group when the arsonist is telling her story and some of the other women are talking and Dorothy reveals a possible change in her feelings about what she’s done/herself. It’s not worthy of a sequel, just a couple more chapters here and there. While what we’re left with is a complete picture, it felt like there were just some missed opportunities. So many offers were put up in the air by introducing her in the present as working in the library; especially given her relationship with Emma, it felt unfinished in a way. We know so much about her while she’s cannibalizing and murdering these men senselessly, but it feels pointless to still know her while she’s imprisoned and know so little about her in the present. She still has the same voice. She still speaks the same about humanity. What about her changed? if nothing did, why this story? Why now? Just to sell cannibal torture porn?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

anpaul98's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Gaslighting

elizajstocks's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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

5.0

If you love true crime, food, sex, and feminism? Read it right now. Then go watch The Menu. Similar vibes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

avasadored's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

i’ve wanted to read this book for a little over a year now; it’s shockingly hard to find. i have to thank the sweet woman who owns a indie bookshop out of town who ordered it for me and the connection we share. 
this novel is absolutely something i want when i read a book; it’s admirably “Ava” in plot and writing style. so that’s to say, not for everyone but when discovered by the right person, endlessly enjoyable. 
brutal, powerful, oddly feminine, and intelligent. extremely creative and well thought out in character and plot, good to read for trying something new or a palette cleanser (no pun intended). a horror novel not entirely based on fear but rather potential, i hope Ms. Summers is working on something more and i hope to get my hands on it when it comes to fruition.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and Gaslighting

jolyne's review against another edition

dark funny reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

5.0

Summers’ writing style is insane and decadent; every page is chock-full with words that feel plump enough to eat lol. The story flips between campy dry humor and brutally disturbing descriptions, but it stays consistently clever. I did laugh out loud a good amount. A warning: there is strong sexual content and the descriptions of the protag’s mutilations leave little to the imagination. It’s funny that this is the first story that I’ve read where our lead is horrifying and twisted, but loveable in a way that makes me feel like I’ve lost a friend after finishing the book. Some things are iffy but make sense when you contextualize them with how icky Dorothy is. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

mermaidsherbet's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Drug use, Death of parent, and Classism

alainareading's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment