Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente

100 reviews

pookiee's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.25

the writing is very nice & it feels the perfect length. maybe I need to know more abt

the bibble

to appreciate this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Murder

taylormoore's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Medical content

Moderate: Confinement, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Domestic abuse

justagremlin's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-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

4.0

This, in my opinion, is a great example of “weird girl fiction”. It’s a very trippy book that takes you on a journey and you don’t really know where it leads until the end. But the plot twist is EXPERTLY set up in my opinion. This entire book makes you furrow your eyebrows more and more until it all makes sense. 

The prose was extremely pretty and, despite the disturbing parts of this book, the audiobook narrator has the perfect calm voice to narrate the MCs thoughts. I will say there is one point in the book that for me its a bit confusing, but I’m also still digesting this book as I type

Recommend for: Weird Girl Fiction lovers who want religious imagery meets Stepford Suburbia

4/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Murder

Domestic Abuse/Misogyny/Toxic Relationship:

MC is treated like an object her husband owns

Murder:

The husband has had several wives and kills them when he finds them imperfect. He then keeps mementos around the house

Religious Imagery:

The big twist of the book is that the husband is Adam and all the previous women he's married were precursors to Eve

spadefootfrog's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse

binreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

I highly recommend going into this blind like I did! You'll either love it or hate it.

It wasn't until the twist was staring me right in the face that I understood.

I was a bible study kid, so I'm surprised I didn't see it sooner but once Cascavel started laying it out I was like waaaaaaaaait a second, is this about adam & eve!?! I had to go back and skim it after I finished and it was all right there, I just didn't see it. All the rules and neighbors and odd things, even the names of the neighbors.

Definitely started out giving me some Don't Worry Darling vibes.  I enjoyed that it was so quick though, because honestly

if this was a long read that turned out to be biblical, I would've probably been highly annoyed lol

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Religious bigotry

pompberry's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Blood and Murder

kylieqrada's review

dark emotional 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

4.5

This was such a banger and I think going into it not knowing anything is the way to go. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gore, and Gaslighting

Minor: Misogyny, Blood, and Religious bigotry

cozy_soul_reads's review against another edition

emotional informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.75

👀 Favorite Qoutes 👀

"When he thuds the whole world is listening. That is her understanding of men."

"Suffering is contraband."

"She doesn't know why she lies."

"I know that look. That look of the hunt."

"I was made for him."

"From him to her. A river to forever."


🍽 Mini Review 🍽
This book feels like the movies, Don't Worry Darling and the Stepford Wives with a leading character who's inner voice feels poetic, haunting, and cold. 
Sophia's mind and the story was hypnotic and intricate in this short story. This story was so haunting as all the men mentioned were treating women like objects and less like people. All the qoutes I provided actually made my skin crawl due to the tone of the whole story.
This story discusses safety, privelege, power, and reminded me a lot of controlling societies. 

There's a scene when someone asks women in a room "if they are happy," and one women digs her nails into a couch and says yes. And the manner that Sophia's understanding of love and the way her findings leave her world crumbling. 

The audiobook was only 2 hours and I felt like I was holding a friend's hand while running in the dark. I had no idea where the story was going and that felt freeing and terrifying. The descriptions of the house and the way Sophia is treated like a child yet expected to be the perfect wife was real for many women in history. Being expected to be perfect yet youthful forever, clean yet understanding their husband's every need. The other women were named after animals Mrs.Lion... I wondered more about the metaphors of it all. But this story will stay with me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry and Murder

oof that dark elements and that garden scene! Adam and Eve story ~ Sophia is really Eve and all the bones she found were the previous wives. Adam, her husband who was only called "husband," is so scary. The fact that the Adam's story was so self centered and the fact he labeled his past wives as "mine" as he hid parts of them around the house was haunting.

strrygo's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

concept is so fun but think it would've been even More fun if it kept it subtle :,3 little moment in the middle of the worst day of her life where she starts worrying abt the HOA contract,, know she's not real but at that moment she was to me

♡ recc from dayana

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Body horror and Gore

Minor: Misogyny

_scvvter's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

Well that was sure an experience for me.

I'm gonna just say that after finishing this book, I do not know how to really feel about it. Like don't get me wrong, I can't think of any flaws about it write now except possibly I wasn't super wild about the writing style. Like everything connected well and the whole story came together at the end great. Valente slayed with this but I just don't think it was for me. Like when I got to the twist I was more upset that I didn't figure it out earlier

especially as someone who spent their who K-12 career being in a private christian school.

I would totally recommend this to someone who wants a good, quick book to read but I just don't think fit with me. Valente didn't eat but she did nibble a bit so I'll possibly give her another chance.

<b>Final Score:</b> 6.5/10

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Toxic relationship, and Murder