Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine

12 reviews

fey's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Fell flat for me. There were some tense and emotional scenes that were very well executed but unfortunately a lot of the themes are stated outright rather than incorporated into the story. The twist is a twenty page info dump that comes out of nowhere and undermines sections of the messaging, many emotionally impactful plotpoints are stated outright and not given any weight. Theres a lot to like still and nothing outright offensive, but I can't say that I got the emotional, weird and darkly impactful story I was wanting and expecting.

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greysun69's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

5.0

4.75⭐️ Somehow I know this plot already. It’s like the writers from American Horror Story season 12 read this book and was like “Say Less” then said less.


‼️Update: Upon further research this book was the inspiration for AHS12. So I stopped watching AHS12 after episode 3 just so it didn’t ruin the book for me.

This book has my anxiety up. A book that creates an actual physical reaction in me is a great book. The paranoia in this main character felt both valid and unreasonable. I struggled to trust anyone in this book. The fucking gaslighting, the medical neglect, not being taken seriously by anyone. I was frustrated for Anna but I also found myself having moments of not trusting her thoughts. Then I felt bad for not trusting her. Issa lot.
Final thoughts: THIS WAS SO GOOD! The ending gave me everything I never knew I needed. The twists defining twisted which explains why the producers from AHS picked this book up. I’m going to go start this season over from the beginning now. 10/10 would definitely recommend this book.
⚠️Content Warnings⚠️
Graphic: Pregnancy, Body horror, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Gore, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Animal death and Eating disorder
Minor: Psychosis , Racism, and Sexism

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catinseas's review against another edition

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

3.75


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coffee_on_the_pages's review against another edition

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dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A feminist horror story about female hysteria, medical gaslighting, and a hint of the paranormal. 

The real horror in this story is how it so accurately depicts the way women are treated by the medical industry. 
The story follows our main character, Anna, a newly famous actress nearing 40 and trying to concieve. The first part of the book deals with Anna's difficult and painful IVF journey. Trying to juggle her newfound fame while also dealing with the barrage of contradictory do's and dont's of what women should or should not be doing while trying for a baby. Anna finds herself getting increasingly paranoid that someone is out to sabotage her when appointment times keep changing, medicines get left out of the fridge, and ominous messages are left om social media. 
Things take an even more dramatic turn for the worst once Anna finally conceives, with a sinister stalker, a mountain of doctors who just wont listen, and a terrifying amount of gaslighting. Absolutely no one will listen to Anna and she slowly believes she is going crazy. 

Interwoven with Anna's story is the stories of many other women both past and present, throughout these the author details the struggles black women in particular have went through in regards to childbirth. She tells of how black women have a higher mortality rate during childbirth, and how in the past they were used for experiments with no anesthesia in the name of medical advancements. While not the main focus of the book it is great that authors like Danielle are shining a light on these issues that are still prevalent today and are so often ignored. 

This book is full of twists and turns and so many times I thought I had finally figured it out and predicted what would happen next I was proved wrong. While the majority of the book feels like more like a thriller with a deranged stalker things take a paranoral turn until finally at the end everything clicks into place! Truly wonderfully written and had me on the edge of my seat. I would highly recommend to anyone after some feminist horror. 

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lizaensley's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

I'm posting a cursory 4.25 star review now, but will do a longer review soon! Really loved this book and have lots of thoughts. :)

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brecken's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5


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chuckyinspace's review

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mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0


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quotecj's review against another edition

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

3.0


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kelseyr713's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This never quite clicked for me. The characters, even the narrator Anna, aren’t very well-developed. I appreciate the message but wanted a more satisfying story and ending.

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onemamareads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Read my full review here: https://onemamassummer.weebly.com/book-reviews/delicate-condition

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