Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Gideon la Neuvième by Tamsyn Muir

91 reviews

jelliclejules's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness, Self harm, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, and Cannibalism

Minor: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Genocide, Infertility, Miscarriage, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War

spacey_gracie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

I think that this book is overrated but still good! I enjoyed it and the very strange and specific writing style of the author. The world building is fun though a bit confusing. I recommend reading the bits in the back of the book before you read the whole story- they give you a bit more context that I felt would have helped me enjoy the book a little more had I read them first. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Self harm, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I don't know what happened to my original review but this time was a re-read and I still loved every moment of it.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

jess_always_reading's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I'm still recovering from the

emotional damage

of that ending so this isn't going to be my best work. 

Muir's world-building is very interesting in that she has clearly worked hard to create a detailed world with internal consistency ...but she doesn't see fit to share that with us. I spent a good three quarters of the book very confused and honestly struggled to continue in parts (confusing, very descriptive heavy, one character disappears for days leaving the other wandering around confused herself). Then the ending hit me like a punch to the face. 

If you can get through about 350 pages, all the action and exposition happens in the last 80 pages or so. 

Super dark, very graphic gory. 
Some pretty incredible fight scenes and one liners. 

5/10 would recommend 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Self harm, and Murder

shatteredplains's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Self harm

ayomason's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and War

(no spoilers) If you're worried about the CWs, it may be a good idea to google details to gauge your own comfort level. IMO, even if you know spoilers, it's still enjoyable and definitely worth reading. That being said, I usually don't mind spoilers in general as I'd rather be prepared before engaging with potentially triggering media. I know other people find that spoilers ruin the experience, so to each their own. On a similar note, this is a great choice if you enjoy books that you can read multiple times. Knowing what happens does not at all take away from future re-reads. I've read it twice, and the second was just as enjoyable, if not more. I know I will return to this book over and over.

redshiftcasualty's review against another edition

dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Muir has perfected a use of the English language so animated and vibrant that I at times wondered if there was real-life magic at play. I've never met characters so strongly detestable and yet so loveable precisely because of their awfulness, and I've never been so thoroughly surprised in a way that makes so much sense. It also contained a surprising amount of murder mystery. This is one of the best books I have ever read and not just because I cried myself ugly at the ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

luckibuns's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Self harm, and Suicide

Minor: Child death, Genocide, Cannibalism, and War

zefancifulreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Holy Hell. 
What an incredible book. 
It’s witty, it’s dark, it’s bloody and I’m absolutely in love. 
It was made even better with Moira Quirk lending voice to this dynamic story. 
I will treasure this first read forever. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Self harm, Torture, Vomit, Cannibalism, and War

marysunburn's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.75

I HATED Harrowhark when I started, and I am so glad she managed to change my mind. 
The worldbuilding was heavy and at times confusing, but the dialogue was engaging and refined and the fight scenes were cinematic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Self harm, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic