Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Anathema by Keri Lake

4 reviews

drxcos's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

!!SPOILERS BELOW!!

This was phenomenal in everything it set out to accomplish.
The plot was fantastic, with so many mysteries and connections, where my head was constantly puzzling and trying to figure out what was going on.
The gothic-style horror was, well, genuinely very horrific and disturbing. A little worried about nightmares, actually. Body horror is usually on my “cannot deal with” list, but I stuck with it and am so glad I did. This book succeeded at making me truly repulsed and horrified by the many many villains.

Ooooooh my god Zevander and Maevyth. Zevander was 👀👌🏻😱🥵 no words. And the slow burn, delicious tension, and spice was just, phenomenal in an agonizing sort of way.

I really appreciated that Zevander also showed actual trauma symptoms from his past (unlike Rhysand from ACOTAR, for example).


I think I spent the last 40% of the book incredibly tense, unable to stop reading, both desperate to continue and terrified of what the next page turn would bring. The mix of the tense and
delicious spice towards the end
, combined with the ongoing horror (
THEYRE OUTSIDE THE HOVEL GUYS HOW ARE YOU JUST OKAY IGNORING THAT???
) was soooo well done.
Overall this book gave a phenomenal reading experience. 100/10.

P.S. didn’t realize this was a duology until I was 95% done and thought “no way are they going to somehow resolve everything in the next 5%” and looked it up. This was an agonizing discovery, but I cannot fucking wait for the next book!!

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magiccc's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5


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julietrblack's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

5.0

Very dark book with some pretty heavy topics. Highly recommend looking at all the trigger warnings first. This book has every trope you would want: touch her and you die, one bed, dark and brooding MMC, and mates. Even though I've read these tropes many times, this still ended up being a fresh and new story. I'm usually not a fan of gory and graphic horror scenes, but for this book I made an exception. The world is so fascinating and I loved how the magic system worked. Nothing felt like filler and the side characters were beautifully written as well. It does end on a cliff hanger, though, so be prepared.

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doahdancer's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

There was so much here to love, but not enough to say this will be in my top ten at the end of the year.

The MMC was a broody, traumatized burnt marshmallow of a man. The gothic atmosphere reminded me of One Dark Window, but with more abject horror. It was easy for me to get lost in the environment and adore the characters.

Still, the first half was paced too slowly and the second half rocketed the slow burn romance to levels I didn't feel had been earned. There were some interesting plot twists which cast doubt on the motivations of seemingly reliable characters, but they were delivered so abruptly and without fanfare that I was left more confused than surprised.

This would be 5 stars if the romance developed more slowly and the plot, which completely turned itself inside out and became sort of shapeless in its twisting, regained clarity and drive before the end.

Will keep the next on my TBR.

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