Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Jack of Thorns by A.K. Faulkner

3 reviews

glindathegolden's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Self harm, Sexual violence, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

booksthatburn's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.5

Quentin is an over-the-top caricature of British aristocracy, due to a combination of his little-discussed father's eccentricities and the way his wealth has insulated him from plebian realities. Whether he might better handle British slang is unclear, but he completely misunderstands the many, many American euphemisms for anything to do with sex or sexuality in a way that gradually makes it obvious that something strange is going on with how he processes the concept. Laurence is a recovering heroin addict who is being stalked by an ex-boyfriend, a situation which gets even weirder when prayers to his god for help result in Jack showing up on his doorstep, complete with a demand that Laurence feed him sexual energy.  

I appreciate the choice to have a main character (Quentin) who is sex-repulsed and asexual (but probably not aromantic). I think it's handled pretty well, especially with regards to the friendship/relationship between the main characters (Laurence is bisexual). It's important to note that the villains are antagonists partly due to their disrespect of personal autonomy and disregard for consent, especially but not only with regards to sex. This means that certain elements of the plot revolve around unwanted sexual contact and conversations aimed at both main characters. There's also a focus on addiction and recovery, of working through the destructive patterns in their lives and trying to make long-term changes.

I hope the sequels feature Quentin working through the mental blocks which are disrupting his life, but without treating it like he needed to be fixed with sex. Based on how this book went, I have high hopes that this will be handled well going forward, but I'll be keeping my eye on it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Ableism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Pregnancy

rebeckareads's review

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

It took me ages to get used to the narrators voice and I ended up listening to it at double speed cause unfortunately I still found it very grating... but apart from that, I had a genuinely good time listening to this! The slowburn, angst and structure has a fanfiction-y quality about it (I don't know how else to explain it) which actually felt refreshing to see in published work.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse

Minor: Rape and Grief