Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

In Memoriam by Alice Winn

55 reviews

brynpemery's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad 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

5.0

This was beautiful. Can’t believe it’s a debut, but I will be looking forward to what the author does next. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Blood, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, Death of parent, Classism, and Homophobia

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

lindasoderlundd's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Bullying, Child death, Suicide, War, Blood, Homophobia, Alcohol, Cursing, Mental illness, Violence, Medical content, and Sexual content

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Classism, Colonisation, Miscarriage, and Antisemitism

botanicpanic's review

dark emotional sad 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, War, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Suicide

Minor: Antisemitism and Classism

paulawind's review

dark reflective sad 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

To be perfectly honest, I expected more of a

kill your gays type of a situation

, especially considering time period,

but I’m so happy I was wrong! The more I think about it, it was the happiest ending that would be realistic in this situation.

We’ll always have Brazil, fuck the Old World. 
This book was harrowing. I thought I was ready for the horrors of war after reading All Quiet on the Western Front, but this book only awoke my memories. Why do leaders decide to go to war when it is universally acknowledged that it is only bringing pain and suffering? And we do it all over again, for millennia. Maybe the Greeks got it more, when the war was more about man vs man rather than automated machines against civilians. 
Coming to characters, side from them dropping like flies every other chapter, I think the author made us care about every (or almost every) death. The character development for both MCs was absolutely breaking my heart but

I’m so glad they found each other back in the end and are learning to love each other again

An almost complete emotional flip Gaunt and Ellwood did throughout the book hit me like a whiplash, but it was done in a way that it made sense. After all

Gaunt’s prisoners of war camp chapters were the most peaceful and cheerful of the entire book, whereas Elwood was facing bloodbath every day, seeing an orchestrated massacre on a daily basis

One of my favourite moments is when Elwood is screaming poetry at Gaunt, very blatantly professing his love in all meaning but the straightforward one, and Gaunt is so deep in denial that even thought he loved him desperately too, he can’t believe it’s really happening. Those characters in a nutshell. At least for the first part of the book. Later it would be Gaunt being gentle and endlessly patient with Elwood when he struggles to say anything at all and bursting in anger, fighting his ptsd. Gosh, I love those boys so much. Going to pretend that the book ended with “And they lived happily ever after”

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Colonisation, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Chronic illness, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Rape, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Medical content, War, Vomit, Sexual content, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Racism

luca_18's review against another edition

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Grief, Death, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Classism, Violence, and War

Moderate: Homophobia and Sexual content

madstone's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, and War

zara89's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Homophobia, Blood, Violence, and War

Moderate: Gun violence, Death of parent, Confinement, Chronic illness, Alcohol, Cursing, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Torture, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Death, Bullying, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Forced institutionalization

willow_thewisp's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, War, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Violence, Colonisation, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Alcohol, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicide

flo_rence's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative 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 has not left my mind since i first read it 7 months ago. There are no words i can use to describe how incredible this book is. It is a work of art. It is so beautifully written and the author writes these characters wonderfully. There are so many little details that pop up over and over again. The descriptions throughout of the setting and the emotions of the two main characters are on a whole new level and evoke such emotion in the reader. It brings to light the gruesome and heartbreaking reality that soldiers faced on the front lines of World War 1, and the complicated experience of being queer in a time when it was much less accepted. It handles such horrifying topics in an eloquent way and fully enrages the reader- it’s as if you are there with them the whole time. It is a truly emotional read that has changed me forever. Winn depicts the decent into madness unlike any other book i have read, her characters are flawed in a very human heartbreaking way. She gives strong personality’s to the main characters so over the course of the war we cleary see the shift in attitude as if by the end of the novel they are different people entirely trying to remember who they were before the war.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual content, Classism, and Cursing

pen_to_paper's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, War, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual content, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Cursing