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A review by kyriannaj
The Lion's Den by Katherine St. John
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.5
CHECK TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE READING THIS BOOK!!!
This book is a bit complicated. The ending plot twists help explain the main character's actions throughout, but without knowing them it seems as if the main character has no issue with the things happening to her and around her. It does an amazing job slowly delving more and more into the past giving you just enough information each time to understand another piece of the puzzle without fully knowing everything. However, the way the book deals with certain triggering topics comes across as very casual and with no regard for the severity of them. Additionally, the traumatic events are never fully dealt with in the book and simply exist in the background before eventually disappearing, or in one case are used to villify a character. There was a lot of potential with this book but I felt it missed the mark at almost every point.
This book is a bit complicated. The ending plot twists help explain the main character's actions throughout, but without knowing them it seems as if the main character has no issue with the things happening to her and around her. It does an amazing job slowly delving more and more into the past giving you just enough information each time to understand another piece of the puzzle without fully knowing everything. However, the way the book deals with certain triggering topics comes across as very casual and with no regard for the severity of them. Additionally, the traumatic events are never fully dealt with in the book and simply exist in the background before eventually disappearing, or in one case are used to villify a character. There was a lot of potential with this book but I felt it missed the mark at almost every point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail