Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon

19 reviews

bookishrona's review

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

unknownportrait's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

3.75

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Rape, Self harm, and Vomit

carojust's review against another edition

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.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

lottyyy's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I enjoyed reading and the basic premise but I feel like the themes weren't fully developed ont going to the line and not going further. I can't help but feel it would be better to have Cory not realise she's being manipulated and be put in a vulnerable position by the Hades counter part until she's back with Emer- so that from the duel pov you've got the worried scared mother and then a girl in this dark forbidden romance and as the story prevails the reader switchs from being seduced with  to be scared for Corey. It started out with this but by the last quarter the book I felt annoyed the My of Kelly felt wasted the relationship between Cory and Rolo didn't feel felshed out going from will they won't they and Rolo being "mildly predatory" to

Cory being raped and this then not developed properly and moving on with her mother appearing and taking her away

.
Side note I listened to the audiobook but I'm aware the text dies contain proper grammar like Sally Rooney books with our speech marks that personally put me off buying the book previously 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Rape

e11en's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Pedophilia and Blood

aseel_reads's review

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. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

victoria_catherine_shaw's review

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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Alcohol

emilycm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

gripping modern retelling that has its successes in the prose effortlessly done by rachel lyon. emer and cory's chapters and perspectives balanced rivetingly, and rolo as the looming overlord of the island was a violating rift in the complexity of their relationship, very well done -- not overdone at all as far as the myth goes. "fear, reversed, is rage" after all.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Gaslighting

read up on the myth itself of demeter, persephone, and hades before reading! prepares you for content but also informs the subtle points of the prose.

sakeriver's review against another edition

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.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Self harm

Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

kds247's review against another edition

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.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Death