Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Un alma de ceniza y sangre by Jennifer L. Armentrout

11 reviews

tiana_king's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Was this simply a money grab and place holder? Yes. Did I love it anyways? Pretty much. I figured this would be the perfect thing to get me out of a reading slump because it was both an old and new book. It took a bit for me to get into but the story dragged me back in all over again. Might just read FBAA next to see whose POV I like more.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Fatphobia and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death

mykingdomforabookworthreading's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

itmakessenseincontext's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Controversial, but I think this was the best book in the series.

As in the most well written. 

I loved how it was structured, and how JLA explored mental health, trauma, recovery, and worthiness through Casteel, and I felt myself relating to him a lot in this book, and I was in tears a few times because certain passages felt like a callout. In a good way, because it made me think about how I treat myself, and why certain passages were triggering for me.

If you are just here for more or Poppy and Cas and finding out what happens next you won't enjoy it, and I think that's why people dislike it. But if you approach it as a look into Casteel's mind, vulnerability, trauma, and healing its a wonderfully well written book, and an enjoyable read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse

I really want to emphasise the Mental Illness, Self Harm, and Suicide trigger warnings. I dont know if I was just really vulnerable while reading, but these topics hit me very hard, and I'm normally able to deal with them very well. They are addressed with care and sensitivity, but if you have gone through this they will be extremely relatable, at least they were for me

abicaro17's review against another edition

dark emotional funny slow-paced

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

2.0

This was tortuous. So goddamm slow and boring. Almost everything in here is part of the first book and she we already knew. I was pulling my hair out and skimming shit bc fuck this. This made me hate Cas a little because he clearly knew what would happen if he slept with her before she knew the truth too. Even Kieran did! That said, the scenes that are new (present day stuff, scenes where Cas was separated from Poppy, and the pre-Poppy stuff) were interesting, funny, and pretty sick. I wish thus was a novella with just the 150 pages of new stuff. I would have given it a 3.5-4 but everything else makes this book burnable. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

potalian's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

marinamierel's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

I guess I just ran out of words for this book. ✨ It is true that it’s not a five star read for me because it wasn’t showing me anything new, but it made me jiggle and kick my feet way too much.🥹 
we needed this. We definitely needed this. Cas ✨ his POV omg✨
 I loved going back to the first time they met… loved to read about all the new characters again for the first time and learning so much about Cas and his thoughts and trauma and story❤️‍🩹 
it is a 4.75⭐️ read for me because this spinoff was way too good for me but I still love them and I still want to read about them and of course this is still my favorite series of all time💛 

can please someone explain this ending?? what do you mean? like does she remember him or not? We waited all this book for not knowing this? I’m gonna shit my pants. And all this Casteel’s transformation? has me completely livinnnnnn! I didn’t expect it. I love it I want to read more about it🫰🏽

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Torture, Violence, and Blood

ka_ke's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

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

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual content, Blood, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Violence, Grief, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

stardust_heidi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.25

First of all, I am screaming at the last chapter. S C R E A M I N G. Both at the chapter and at JLA, because how DARE, lmao. Whyyyyyyyyyyyyy. I feel even more unsettled now than I did after TWOTQ. Rude. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I did find a lot of the repeated scenes quite tedious, even if they were from Casteel's POV. We already know most of those scenes intimately, and while yes, they were all from Poppy's perspective before, I don't know that ALL of them needed to be from Cas's POV. I did enjoy a few of the big ones, like the craven attack/night on the rise and then after Poppy stabs him in New Haven. Those were great. 

The moments I enjoyed the most were the new scenes, especially those with Kieran. I loved experiencing their bond from Casteel's perspective and how Kieran just kind of *knew* things were different about Poppy from the beginning. It also opened up a whole avenue of questions I'd silently pondered to myself before and blew them out in the open -- especially during the explicit scenes with Cas and Kieran. Hot damn. 

But that last chapter. Holy. Fuck. I think Emil said it best: "What in the fuckity fuck?" Lmao. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Self harm and Sexual assault

crinkledmochi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I hope we can get more pov’s from Cas in the last couple books, I love learning more about him and some of the things he’s gone through. 

The ending tho?!?? 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

midnacine's review against another edition

adventurous funny reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Excuse me, what the fuck? Literally I was gonna give this 4.5 stars until the last chapter, holy fucking shit. JLA knew exactly what she was doing and therefore must be evil

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Self harm, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Grief

Minor: Rape, Stalking, and Death of parent