Reviews with content warning for Addiction - Fruit of the Dead

a tense book switching perspectives between Cory (third person) and Emer (first person) through an addicting story

the first half of this book felt slow, and i kept being pulled away by it, especially from emer’s perspective, because i had no interest in her work or how it connected with the story

i enjoyed the second half much better - hazy and dizzying as we switched between a girl trapped in a dark romance and a mom going to great lengths for her daughter. no quotation marks are used, which is hard to adjust, but it added to the effect - blurring thoughts, words, and actions altogether. i really appreciated the mom’s perspective at this point as it added another layer to a rather overused plot, and i loved the desperation, the willingness it clung to

the ending, a climate of jitteriness, had disappointed me. i was sad to see that several topics — very important/tragic ones at that — were not covered or mentioned at all

overall, i felt that none of the topics or ideas in this book were fully covered - they felt empty. however, it was still a good read that had me on edge

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jaefrie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

3.5

Loved the writing, there were moments where things felt forced though.

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carojust's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This is a trippy story based on Persephone, Demeter and Hades -- an aimless teenage daughter caught in a billionaire's hell, while her mother dissolves, not knowing where she's gone, searching for her along the northeastern coast.

I think there's only so many storylines about extremely beautiful, self-destructive blond waifs that I can take. If "The Guest" by Emma Cline and "My Year of Rest and Relaxation" by Ottessa Moshfegh are your faves, you'll absolutely love "Fruit of the Dead" -- it's formulaic and frenzied, the same drug haze and unconsenting / triggering scenes, the body odor and broken faces combined with "but she's still so pretty, prettier in fact," the trail of gross men who erode innocence, etc. A yacht girl, sugar daddy tale of caution. What anchors this book's plot, and differentiates it from the aforementioned titles, is the deep dive into a mother's complicated relationship with her daughter, and the desperation and sacrifice that come with that version of love. That perspective resonated with me, and I think helped this plot move along. The end is hurried and attempts to paint the mother as a hero, but falls flat for me, and misses an opportunity to build further on the tragedy.

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aseel_reads's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

If it wasn't for the annoying flowery/lyrical/purple prose x 1000 writing style, this would have been an interesting reflection on mother-daughter relationship. I just couldn't stand the writing style.

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victoria_catherine_shaw's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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sakeriver's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

There is a lot in this book about addiction, obsession, money, patriarchy, rape culture, and the tension between parents and children. That latter is what hit me the most, and the final line was just chilling. I think this is Rachel Lyon’s best work yet.

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kds247's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-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? Yes

4.5

This is such a beautiful book. The text is almost like poetry and the two voices for both the mother and daughter are incredibly distinctive. I loved both of their voices more than I have in any other book. Now with that I would want to point out the content warning of rape and abuse. It is very much a factor that drives this book, and if it is a trigger for you do not read it. It was a very dark read but one of the most profound books I’ve read in a while. Specifically surrounding the themes of being a woman in all of its gorgeous and grotesque ways.

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megnut's review

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

An emotionally painful read. (As someone else put it: this was a story of trauma and control.)

The story was well done... but I don't feel comfortable recommending it.

Cory's story made me heart hurt so much.

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