Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

El encuadernador by Nieves Calvino Gutiérrez, Bridget Collins

16 reviews

valerian_honeybee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, and Self harm

Minor: Child death, Incest, and Deportation

thewileyseven's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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? No

3.75

I feel complicated in this rating--I really loved the book and, especially once I got to part II, I could hardly put it down! But I also have some major qualms. The uneven pacing left a lot to be desired for me. I understand why Part I was paced the way it was (considering

the impacts of binding on Emmett's mind--I kept wondering why he spent so much time just staring off into space. Now I know!

, but ultimately Parts I and II both dragged in places for me. 

I also agree with another review I read regarding the treatment of women in this book. All completely sidelined, used as plot devices, killed off to further men's emotional development, and worse. Rough! Again, I can understand why, with commentaries on gender violence, historic sexism, and more, but I dunno. The main characters' complicity in this was a bummer. 

Part II, however, sang for me. Beautiful, aching, blossoming. And the system of binding is a splendid magic. Overall, I think this was 100% worth the read for me. But there are just pieces that grated at me a little too much to go unsaid. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Outing, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

katy_bee's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

A reread for me as it was this month's book club pick. I lived it the first time around and I wondered if it would lube up to memory. Actually it has, I feel swept up in Emmett and Lucian's story, the ways in which they're trapped, make mistakes, try and be authentic, let people down and ultimately find a way through. The world building around book binding is consistent and well drawn (although if magic worlds simply aren't your thing, this might feel a bit much in places). The background characters are also interesting. Women are mostly victims in the narrative and in particular they're victims of sexual violence- so heed the content warnings - but for me that felt in keeping with the world and narrative. I would have liked to see some light at the end of the tunnel for some of those characters whose trauma seemed perhaps diminished by the fact that their stories simply end when Emmett and Lucian's story is tied up but they're the main characters so perhaps unsurprising.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

kaiiyo's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.25

A joy to read that left me quietly weeping in the bath
Wonderful characters and beautifully evocative writing 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Misogyny, and Murder

Minor: Classism

maeverose's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Edit: I just found out the author is a terf, so I removed my rating. But I’ll leave the review for now. :/

TL;DR: I love the concept of this book so much, I really liked the romance, the writing style is hit and miss for me, why does everyone have to interrupt each other in every conversati—

                    The Concept

I love the idea of binding people’s memories into a book to remove them from their mind. I love how this book explores that. It’s just so cool to me. As disturbing as it is to read, I like that it explores the horrible ways people could take advantage of that system.

                   The Romance

I liked it a lot. I tend to prefer books without romance side plots because they often feel tacked on and underdeveloped, but the romance in this one is a crucial part in the overall story, and I really liked how it was done.

I liked the progression of Emmett’s feelings for Lucian. The way it was written I genuinely wasn’t sure how that was gonna go at first. The slow progression of hate to attraction without Emmett even seeming to recognize it as attraction at first. Idk I just liked that. And the dance scene !! I almost wish they explored how Emmett being a binder effects their relationship being as Lucian hates binders, but also I don’t like relationship angst so I don’t entirely mind that it was kinda just dropped.

                        Writing

The prose worked for me sometimes, not other times. I generally like pretty prose if it’s done well, and for the most part this was. It had a very gothic atmosphere, which I always love. But I felt it was a little over written here and there, and that both took me out of the scene sometimes and slowed the pacing at times where it seemed like it should’ve been a more fast paced scene (namely, the very end). The last 30% was pretty slow. And a more subjective dislike: It focuses a lot on the unattractive things in a scene, and for some reason that often meant lots of bodily fluids… It was mentioned excessively and unnecessarily and I just don’t like that writing choice.

                  Plot Structure

I really like how we start out following Emmett after he’s been bound, then the way he eventually finds out, immediately leading into part two which is entirely just his memory. I definitely liked part three the least, but I think part three had to have been from Lucian’s pov or it wouldn’t’ve worked. And I definitely didn’t mind it. I think it could grow on me after a re read. Overall I just think the way the plot was structured was really smart.

                      Dislikes

       My number one pet peeve was that in almost every. single. conversation. someone had to interrupt someone else mid sentence. It happened so often and half the time it made no sense why they interrupted the other person. I counted 22 times in the first chapter alone… I don’t know how the editors didn’t suggest changing that. It was so annoying.

       It wouldn’t be a review from me if I didn’t point out the ableism! This one was just little comments here and there (e.g: a comment about becoming a ‘drooling lunatic’, calling someone ‘simple’, calling a disabled person useless), always from the main Characters’ pov (mostly Emmett’s, I think), always uncorrected. I know it’s probably supposed to be ‘fitting of the time period’ but leaving those out literally would’ve changed nothing. I’m tired of reading historical fiction/fantasy and always seeing shit like that. Those comments are still harmful.

There was also a plot point that was just dropped that I felt needed more explanation.

When Emmett used that weird voice to tell off the people who wanted to burn Seredith’s house down, it was only brought up again once. When Emmett brought it up to Seredith she basically told him ‘that was nothing’. But it definitely seemed like something..? He seemed almost possessed to me.

   Alta annoyed me a bit but maybe that’s a me problem…

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Cursing, Fatphobia, Slavery, and Abandonment

There is one use of the slur for Romani people. Does the dog die:

Yes. The dog is killed, rather violently

elphayes's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

The book is solid but a little flowery in how it's written. I'd have liked a more direct narrative, and the conversations seemed a little 'up to interpretation' in terms of those between the main character and his love interest. 

I'd have liked more focus on the MC and his craft, maybe more focus on how he learned to do it and finish a book etc. It kind of jumped from his sole life story to sudden romance, and was a bit jarring. Given the plot it does make sense but I think it could have been done a little better.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death and Sexual content

jenn_bookstitcher's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, and Vomit

katkinslee's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

It was an interesting read but it definitely didn't have enough about the actual magic of binding and the ending was so abrupt that it really took away from the enjoyment of it all

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Rape

anapthine's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious relaxing 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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Physical abuse and Sexual content

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Deadnaming, Death, Blood, and Classism

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

4.0

Love books about books, or dark reads with wildly unhealthy ways to deal with trauma? Then you might enjoy this one! The world building is excellent, and it was interesting seeing the dual timeline play out. Things were drawn out just a little too long and started to lose my interest toward the end. Warnings for suicide, sexual abuse, rape, and others.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting