Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

26 reviews

emoryjoy's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

I would like to give the caveat that I was listening to this as an audiobook and had it at double speed by the end. This quite nearly was a DNF. 

I'm not sure if the story took liberties with the myth or was just much more in depth than I knew about. Either way, it absolutely nailed the Greek Tragedy vibe and was gruesome in that very specific way that myths often are. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

moh_reads's review against another edition

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

3.5

An interesting concept, but falls flat in some ways for me. Lots of repeated phrases about dancing, bellowing, rotten chamber, women are the ones who suffer for men's actions, etc.  

My largest struggle with the book is that the main women in it feel very passive. At times, Ariadne comes across as unrealistically naive in a way that the author justifies due to large passages of time that the reader has not been present for. There were times where I felt like both sisters had been portrayed as smarter earlier in the book, only to have their words and actions later greatly discredit their intelligence, life experiences, and their prior characterization! 

This book made me appreciate Clytmenestra more as a novel that truly gave its main female character agency and intellect while still operating within the limits of myth. This wasn't quite it for me, but I did finish it in one sitting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Vomit, and Pregnancy

gc_epub's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

The timeline/pacing of the book was kinda weird, but I enjoyed the plot twists and moral gray of the characters’ personalities and choices.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Minor: Incest and Rape

claire_riach's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Mental illness and Pregnancy

Minor: Vomit

rtorrey's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

ibjilln's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and War

sop17hie's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

I cried

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Vomit, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Rape and War

camiandkitread's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

Jennifer Saint’s “Ariadne” is a beautiful retelling of the Ariadne myth. 

The pacing is slow but steady, enough to keep the reader’s engaged but calm while the tense parts of the myth are spread out. 

The ending of “Ariadne” was not one that I was familiar with but suited this interpretation nicely. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

prlprl's review

dark reflective fast-paced

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

4.75

I recently asked Jennifer Saint where she positioned herself in the context of modern feminism in her new book, Atalanta, and her response made me immediately pick up Ariadne to understand better. Sisterhood is, I believe, the overarching theme that applies to the narrative of Ariadne, but beyond blood, Saint describes the sisterhood of women’s suffering for the mistakes of men, which is the anchor with which Ariadne strengthens herself in her story. Heartbreaking. ancient and yet revolutionary in its moderation, Ariadne’s story is told with wisdom and grain of hope that leaves the reader with the most bittersweet of longings by the end.

Made me cry several times on public transport. A gorgeous novel, a must-read for anybody who has yet to. A defining miracle in an age of apathy and projection. I’ve given it 5 for the lyricism, the humility, and the coarse honesty that is woven through Saint’s words.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Gore

Minor: Animal cruelty, Suicide, and Vomit

carolinacortes's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad 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

Some of the prose in the dialogue made it difficult to get into the character’s personalities since it seemed more like exposition with quotation marks on either end at times. I enjoyed the more woman-centric focus, however. 

I did enjoy the world-building and care put into describing the various important locations. It was immersive and gave me a good idea of the environment, structures, and the overall vibe. 

Another contributing factor to this rating would be the pacing; some scenes suffered from going too fast and others too slow. I would probably not read this again, but I didn’t hate it. Solid 3+ stars for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Murder

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Sexual assault and Vomit