Reviews with content warning for Animal death - To Be Devoured

Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

To Be Devoured by Sara Tantlinger

55 reviews

ennzito24's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. Some parts made me very uncomfortable and others had be completely encapsulated. I just couldn't put the book down! Expect lots of gross scenes and very dark undertones as you dwelve into the mind of a woman obsessed with vultures.

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dosxhime's review against another edition

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dark 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? No

4.0

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miss_choon's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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entazis's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I recently traveled to Portugal, and those who watched the reading travel vlog (in Croatian) at the @morinakutija YouTube channel know that I read A House With Good Bones by T Kingfisher on the way there. But on the way back I read the horror novella To Be Devoured by Sara Tantlinger.

What a ride that was. And I don't mean airplane travel, I mean the book. The only thing I knew about it was that it had cannibalistic sapphics so I was naturally up for it, especially because I remembered I haven't still filled out the "food centric" prompt on #bitfchallenge2023. Turns out, this novella is about a woman with unhealthy obsessions toward vultures, to the point she believes she's transforming into one. That negatively influences her relationships, mostly the already shaky one with her girlfriend. What follows is disturbing fixations on meat, hunger and death, resulting in some grossly horrifying scenes, written with beautiful prose. It's very effective, some scenes so visceral that I felt the discomfort under my skin, but I couldn't stop reading, hooked to the story with morbid curiosity. This one is meant to gross you out, so it's not for every reader, and if you have troubles with animal cruelty, maybe not a good fit for you.

This was actually a funny choice after A House with Good Bones that also had plenty of vultures, and especially to read it while flying.

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seesalynne09's review against another edition

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4.0

Finally a book I was told would be messed up and it actually was :)

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thescenery's review against another edition

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dark 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

Despite being gruesome, and the reading being slow for a book of only 92 pages, the author was able to craft a remarkably intricate story. While reading, the reader may feel uncomfortable, yet they can navigate between understanding Andi and comprehending her unstable mental state. This differentiation was crucial for the book, and the author did a magnificent job of transforming something terribly graphic into beautiful descriptions and perspectives.

However, it was hard to grasp any sympathy for the character. I don't know if it was on purpose or not, but I think the book would benefit from it, getting the reader involved with Andi, because otherwise I just didn't care much.

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