Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Anathema

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Anathema by Keri Lake

67 reviews

danny100's review against another edition

dark relaxing medium-paced

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

4.75

Keri Lake can do no wrong and she is so slept on. Her gothic vibes are 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

I think I am just too dumb to understand her magic systems, sometimes 😂

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chrysanthemum17's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

Safe to say this book was not for me. I just didn’t get it. It was like fluff fluff fluff fluff, oooh here’s some really important information to the story fluff fluff and woah some more world building and then back to fluff. This book did not have to be as long as it was. And can they stop gnashing their teeth and snarling.

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becxreadz's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Liked
*Dark and creepy with sinister vibes
*Keri Lake knows how to hook readers
*An interesting magic system
*Slow burn
*One bed
*Death power
*Family dynamics
*Animal familiar
*Pierced for her pleasure

5 ⭐️, 1 🌶, 3 🧪
Rating, smut, chemistry

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riddikulyssreads's review

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challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

"You are mine, Lunamiszka. For all eternity and whatever lies beyond it. No soul has ever been more intricately woven into mine than yours."

Maevyth is a nineteen-year-old girl living in a highly religious community. Having been found next to the dreaded Eating Woods as a baby, she has always been looked at as cursed and shunned by her community. Through the Eating Woods and beyond the magical forbidden boundary resides Zevander. Cursed from infancy, he has become the coldest and most calculating assassin for the king of Aethyria. In order to break his curse, Zevander needs Maevyth’s blood…all of it. Through a series of unfortunate events, Maevyth unexpectedly finds herself on the opposite side of the divide - the first human to do so. Their worlds collide - unraveling a trail of unanswered questions, long-lost history and unexpected emotions. His obsession with her threatens to ruin everything he’s worked so hard for. But only the banished know what lies beyond the woods.

This book is a dual POV and the first in The Eating Woods Duology. It’s perfect for readers who love gothic dark fantasy with a little bit of added horror. Be warned, it’s a true SLOW BURN. Keri does add a disclaimer for that in the beginning. If you want fast romance, this is not for you. This book is plot-HEAVY and fantasy-forward. It has tropes such as enemies-to-lovers, one bed and found family.

This was my first Keri Lake book and I’m HOOKED. I can’t wait to read more of her work. Her writing is so intricate and immersive. I got visually lost in this world and I did NOT want to come out. I’ll admit, I dragged this out a little because I truly didn’t want it to end. Every interaction and scene in this book was necessary to experience the full immersion of who the characters are and how the world works. The unique magic system was captivating. I never felt bored or like I was overwhelmed by too much fantasy. It was a perfect blend. The glossary was very helpful for reference. This story was dark, gritty and hauntingly beautiful. The angst and tension of the slow burn has me aching for more. The side characters are multi-layered and I can’t wait to learn even more about them. The MCs’ chemistry is on literal fire. I am DESPERATE for Eldritch after that ending!!

⚠️ Please read all trigger warnings before reading this book! ⚠️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 (lots of tension, spice towards the end)

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maggiekapitan's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? N/A

4.0

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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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nicolenoodles's review

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I was so disappointed in this book after a really strong start. It drew me in straight away with its atmosphere and characters, but by half way all momentum had fizzled out. The insta-attraction was jarring and clumsy. The focus on random details was frustrating and instead of adding to the atmosphere and world, it detracted from the plot and created so much drag. I also felt the use of sexual violence became gratuitous, it added nothing to the plot and, in my opinion, was entirely unnecessary. I don’t avoid books which those triggers, but it was not sensitively handled.

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krisbiee18's review against another edition

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2.5

Like Tolkien mixed with SJM but both done poorly. The world building felt forced considering she doesn’t intend for it to be a long series. I felt like the plot was hard to get to through all the races and new words.

The smutty parts were mixed in with bouts of sexual trauma which was oftentimes jarring to read.

As smutty fantasy comes, it was alright. The spice was there just mixed with other things and not very often.

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atsy6's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

It was an intensely complicated world. Tons of world building. I really appreciate the map, the Glossary and race descriptions. I frequently had to reference them. It was pretty slow going for the first 60%. After that the plot really started moving and things were developing. Overall I'm very intrigued by this world and story line and I hope the next books can focus on the plot now that the extensive world has been set up.

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effiex's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? No

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