Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

108 reviews

jackal_ope's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Misogyny, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Infertility, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Minor: Trafficking

crypticspren's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was tremendously outstanding. Devon is such a complex character that explores the cost of love in the patriarchal world of The Families. Watching her grow and come to terms with her own naivety was incredible and despite the myriad sins she commits, she might be one of my favourite characters ever written.
The plot itself and general lore is fascinating. The concept of eating books for knowledge, the 'Eater lore regarding their creator and mission, and their whole heirarchical structure with the Families, Knights, and Dragons was so well explored and explained.
The writing, too, was thoroughly gripping and this book was entirely unputdownable. I've been in a bit of a reading slump and this pulled me right out of it.

Overall, this was an exceptional read with drama, suspense, and moral conundrums that had me gasping for air.

Five stars!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Vomit, Trafficking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

aliteraryescape's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Gun violence and Trafficking

hollyd19's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

2.5

I wanted to like this more than I did. It’s more of a horror than I anticipated, and the premise of “book eaters” isn’t nearly as robustly explored as I’d hoped. I was intrigued by the setup, but found the delivery weak. There is far more emphasis on the variant of “mind eaters,” leaving the core world-building concept underdeveloped. I also found the ending abrupt and somewhat unsatisfying. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol

Minor: Cannibalism

sammykat's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Somehow this book manages to be different from anything else I have read. Horrifying and captivating in equal measures, the storytelling and characters had me hooked from the first page. 
Devon is a woman with a mission and the power of love behind her. The story is thrilling, fantastical, drawing on folklore in some places, but also firmly set in 21st century UK. 
I couldn't put it down, it was excellent and kept up the same level of excitment and intrigue throughout. I was second guessing every twist and I loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Sexual violence and Violence

Minor: Trafficking

Child birth

arialien's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Abandonment

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

blacksphinx's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infertility, Slavery, and Trafficking

Minor: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Infertility, Rape, Torture, Medical content, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Child death, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racism, Vomit, Trafficking, and Acephobia/Arophobia

chelseainthesky's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Slavery, Vomit, Trafficking, and War

msgslibrary's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This book was a marvelous piece of writing, able to carry a story in a non-linear style chapter by chapter to slowly peel back the layers of the main character's life. I was worried I wouldn't like it at first because the opening chapter makes it seem like the main character's primary personality trait is being an alcoholic, but that thankfully isn't focused on with the same intensity for the rest of the book. If that's of concern, get past the first chapter and the story will get better from there. The worldbuilding that Dean is able to weave throughout the story is masterful, even though there are holes. In fact, the holes that are left make it all the more interesting. Our own history as a species is full of mystery and unanswered questions the further back in time we try to study, and the Book Eaters of this book are no different. This, paired with the rigidity of the social structures the Book Eaters live under, makes for a wholly enjoyable read with enough lore to not get bogged down. And if you love a feral woman/lesbian main character, Devon, this book's lead, is for you! There is also an underlying metaphor of disability rights and how to navigate the world as an autistic/neurodivergent person, at least through my reading, that Dean works in so subtly and fluidly that is moves but doesn't overstate itself. Wile extremely gory and dark at points, by the end this book was a breath of fresh air for a sci-fi/fantasy lover like me who loves seeing unique ideas in the genre executed well!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

happy ending