Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Ariadna by Jennifer Saint

34 reviews

franticfreya's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicide, Blood, and Abandonment

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Child death, Rape, and Grief

nialiversuch's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

phantomgecko's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? No

4.25

Circe is my touchstone for mythological retellings, so I couldn't help but compare this novel to it. I was shocked to find this book was longer than Circe because it felt like less happened. One possible explanation is the splitting of the narrative between Ariadne and Phaedra. I just wasn't able to get to know either of them as well as I came to know Circe.

I enjoyed the feminist angle here, the emphasis on woman's suffering at the hands of the gods. Like, true. Men suffered too, but mostly it was their own fault?

This retelling felt softer. The buck wildness of Greek mythology was present but not as nitty gritty as in Circe. Importantly, I cried at the end because the theme of motherhood was strong, and I am but an emotional mother.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

sirenricobooks's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Abandonment

Moderate: Death of parent and Pregnancy

Minor: Body horror, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Sexual harassment, and Classism

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

angelkisses's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Inconsistent pacing, an overarching story that screams feminism 101, repetitive expository dialogue. The writing was enchanting and the descriptions were palpable, their power muted by the narrative they occupied. Part I was a bore and Part III was the novel at its best. The epilogue was interesting enough and Part IV interesting in the way that expectations of a specific character

(Dionysus)

were "subverted" but not so much that anyone who doesn't have a basic understanding of Greek mythology. There are better examples of 'mythological realism' out there, one being the very book it's being comped to in its description (Circe by Madeline Miller) where constant narrative questioning and tired repetitive exposition doesn't plague the story. I understand this is a debut story so I will not hold prejudice against the author -- they certainly have a talent for writing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Rape

lanid's review against another edition

reflective sad

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

cviii's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

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

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Blood, and Abandonment

Moderate: Misogyny, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Pregnancy

alicia_m_andrews'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

evilyn777's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective

• 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? No

2.5

I feel like the message of this novel was "Yes, all men are bad". If I would live in that universe I wouldn't even get near a men.

The plot was based on the myth, so I have no critique there, but I agree with other reviews that the pacing was all over the place.

I still enjoyed the authors writing style, so that was ultimately what kept me reading. (I will also give this author another chance, since I enjoyed the writing so much.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, Suicide, and Blood

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Vomit