Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

33 reviews

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

emotional 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

“He’d accepted long ago that some people, no matter how good their heart was or how much love they had to give, would always be alone. It was there lot in life, and Linus had figured out, at the age of twenty seven, that it seemed to be that way for him. Oh, there was no specific event that brought along this line of thinking. It was just that he felt…dimmer than others. Like he was faded in a crystal clear world. He wasn’t meant to be seen”

Oh how I love love, and this book is chock full of it. There is romantic love, a familial love, a love of humanity, and a love of storytelling that make this novel all that it is. I cannot wait to read more from this author 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, and Death of parent

evann140's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

plantdonut's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Hate crime and Racism

Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

ariep's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing 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? No

5.0

A really enjoyable read! I loved the characters and the world building. I loved how hopeful it was without being unrealistic. Highly recommend! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Self harm, and Grief

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, and Forced institutionalization

novella42's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-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? No

4.25

It's hard to put into words why I didn't adore this the way everyone else seems to. It was a sweet book and I appreciated the gentle and positive queer representation. I guess the hype just led me to expect different things. It might also be because I DNF the audiobook version--the narrator just wasn't for me--and that initial experience made it harder for me to connect with the characters? I don't know.

I wanted this to hit me like Sangu Mandanna's The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, which I realize was written two years after The House in the Cerulean Sea. Why was I swept away by that one enough to buy a copy for my comfort bookshelf, but not by this one? Especially when I love queer romances of all genders, I really thought that'd tip the balance for me. Maybe the spice level was higher in the other? Maybe because I don't do well with body horror, which felt fairly graphic in The House in the Cerulean Sea? (Probably folks who read a lot of horror would consider it tame, but it kept repeating a trigger for my C-PTSD, so I'm biased here.)

Spoiler about a problematic theme related to the children's make-believe adventures:

I was very disappointed by the repetition of the "cannibal" theme they had in the children's fantasy adventures. I know it's meant to be a lighthearted "kids being kids" kind of thing, but the more Indigenous authors I read, the more something like that makes me cringe. All I can see is them playacting the story of "European colonizers and missionaries dehumanizing Indigenous people with unfounded racist fears." I know I'm a bleeding heart liberal killjoy, etc. but honestly, it's 2024, why are you writing "savage cannibal" themes into anything? They could have been imagining so many alternatives. It just was so dissonant with the book's overall message of celebrating differences and respecting the original inhabitant of the island.

Still a good book overall. I might pick up the second book at the library someday, when all the furor dies down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Death of parent, and Colonisation

Minor: Cursing

erikagibson126's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Abandonment, and Colonisation

Moderate: Body horror, Fatphobia, Hate crime, and Cannibalism

adrienanthony's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? It's complicated

5.0

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book as sweet as this one. The characters were so loveable and precious to me that I couldn’t go a page without smiling at their interactions. This is a new comfort read for me and I’ve recommended it to all of my friends.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Moderate: Body shaming

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Fatphobia, and Death of parent

The main character has internalized fatphobia that is addressed as something to overcome in a route to self-love.

keelirae113's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book is a love letter to everyone who has ever been made to feel that they don’t belong. You deserve a family who loves you just as you are, even if that means you have to go out and find them for yourself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Death of parent

mixmousereads's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Fatphobia, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Eating disorder, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Murder

mags_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective 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

3.5

I enjoyed this book, but found the dialogue rather stilted and preachy.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, and Blood