Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

35 reviews

lauralintunen's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Acephobia/Arophobia

Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

maple_dove's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

4.0

Sawkill Girls is a feminist story similar by Stranger Things about three queer girls vs. a a scary monster.

Before reading this book, I read Extasia. The feminist and queer themes are definitely present in Sawkill Girls too. I liked this book throughout, but my favorite parts are after the halfway mark.

The asexual alloromantic and exes-to-friends representation was GREATTT!

However, there is one qualm I have about this book.

He had insisted on cleaning up the kitchen before turning in, otherwise the crusty layers of casserole on their late-night dinner plates would fester and haunt him, snickering in the kitchen while he lay awake staring at the ceiling.
The adorable little freak.

. . .

From what I know, the word freak is a pretty triggering word for the disabled community, because it implies that they are things to be feared.

⭐️ Favorite Quotes: 

"Can I once again apologize on behalf of men everywhere?" Grayson offered. "Because we can really fucking suck sometimes."
Zoey arched an eyebrow. "Sometimes?"
"Most of the time."
"There it is."

Marion couldn't imagine a God like the one she'd grown up hearing about--some man sitting in the clouds, maneuvering the pieces of the world to suit his whims because he, of course, knows best.
But she could imagine a God in the shape of an island crowned with trees, brooding in the middle of a black sea.

"I don't know what will happen to us once we get to the obscura. The book says he can't be killed--"
"Screw that book," said Val. "It was written by men." She held out her free hand to Marion. "We're rewriting it." (pg. 385-386)

Marion stood at the port side railing, her back to everyone and her black hair streaming out behind her--a dark queen, surveying the battlefield.

"What's wrong with you?" Zoey had never heard Valerie Mortimer's voice sound so unfinished. "None of this is necessary--"
"I will decide what is necessary!" howled Briggs, his grip tightening painfully around Zoey's arm. "This is the way it is done. This is the way our fathers taught us."
"Your fathers,"  Val replied, "were full of shit." (pg. 398)

"The Collector must feed. He must be banished from our world. So it has been done, and so it is done, and so it shall always be done."
"And so it shall always be done," repeated the men, reminding Zoey of the way Borg drones proclaimed they were going to assimilate you, that resistance was futile, that you were screwed and there was no way out, sorry about that.
[...]
But then Marion spoke.
"And so," she said, her voice low and serene, "it shall never done again." (pg. 398-399)

"It's not our job to save the world. It can't be. That's not fair."
"If it's not our job," Marion asked quietly, "whose is it?"

Hope, she thought, breathing with the tide, was a choice that only those with resolute hearts dared to make.

Stardust cares not for the agony of demons.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Sexual content, Kidnapping, and Acephobia/Arophobia

Minor: Cancer, Drug use, Racism, Suicide, Vomit, and Car accident

Underage drinking (graphic), Verbal abuse (minor)

chellyfishing's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexism, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content and Acephobia/Arophobia

frog_appreciator's review against another edition

3.5

I love monsterous girls!! But this wasn’t quite monster girl enough for me. I  appreciated the sapphic and ace rep. Started off super invested but my interest kind of flaked off by the end of it. Here are my main issues with it,

I don’t necessarily think Val and by the collector being revealed as the baddies right away couldn’t work, the way it was written just lacked mystery and depth. Also the specific superpowers the girls had didn’t seem cohesive to me/make sense fully. And the whole
cult thing in general, didn’t fit the flow of the story. There was one line about young girls and their hunger, which if expanded upon could have made the whole thing more meaningful but on its on felt out of place. Also the horses and moths and the land in general, wish the connection to the rock was made more explicit. Just would have been a stronger read

Despite this I still read it quickly and enjoyed it for the most part. 
CW: bugs, mainly moths but one scene with lots of spiders too

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Sexual violence, Grief, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content and Car accident

Minor: Self harm

runes_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

No spoiler review!
5/5 stars
Read for 2 hours and 41 minutes according to Libby, and picked it up four times (so like 40ish minutes average per sitting)
LOVED this story! The characters were so incredible and interesting, I cared so much for all of them. The POV switching was great and easy to follow, the vibes and word choice and IMAGERY was just amazing. Every character was so distinct and their own whole person. Some stories with POV switching and this many characters get sort of muddled, this certainly did not. It took me a while to love the characters, but once I did? They were so life like. All in all, a wonderful book that made me cry. There are some pretty heavy topics though, so make sure to check with the content warnings first

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Gun violence, Rape, and Sexual assault

ghostlyprince's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Suicide attempt, and Acephobia/Arophobia

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Vomit, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

thebookraiders's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Animal death and Confinement

emmaward55's review against another edition

dark sad tense

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

4.75

This book is perfect for anyone who loves the Charmed TV series and thought it could be scarier.

When I was on chapter four, my working theory was that the missing girls were being turned into horses by Val and her mum: But oh, it's so much darker than that. I love a good horror film, yet I found myself more creeped out in reading this book than I expected to be. Legrand's writing is evocative, tense, and atmospheric, without getting too bogged down in description. There's plenty of action and moments of good character growth throughout.

I read this book in two days, mostly in three long chunks, as I couldn't drag myself away to focus on anything else! I loved the complex relationships of our three protagonists and their characterisations have to be a highlight for me. Can't lie though, I’m sad that we didn’t get a reunion scene at the end between Marion and her mum. Considering that this is a book about female relationships, it feels weird to not include one of the protagonists interacting with the last present female parent of the trio. 

That being said, the above was my only real complaint. I'd certainly read this book again and I recommend it for anyone with a strong stomach!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Misogyny, Vomit, Medical content, Acephobia/Arophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug abuse, Miscarriage, and Suicidal thoughts

Child death and kidnapping:

All are around 17

Self harm:

The only instance I remember is a character burning something off their skin, but it's done to save themselves and others

Drug abuse and suicidal thoughts:

A secondary character isn't trusted with their prescription medication, as a loved one suspects they might intentionally overdose. Nothing actually happens and it's just a brief mention.

oliverreeds's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

4.0

pretty good. the character relationships were stilted at the beginning. i didnt understand their motivations but it made sense at the end. i just wish there had been more friendship initially. would have provided a better foundation

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood

Minor: Gore, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism