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directorpurry's reviews
1864 reviews
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Inspired by the real-life mystery of the Beast of Gévaudan, We Are the Beasts follows a cast of characters disadvantaged - through gender, sexuality, and social class - in their society. Through the backdrop of mysterious deaths and animal attacks, they finally get a glimpse of something only dreamed about - freedom.
A great alternate title for this book would be "How to Fake Your Death in 18th Century France" because I'm pretty sure the entire cast did just that at some point.
I found the characters, generally, to be very compelling and enjoyable. Josephine had a very engaging narrative voice, and I found this novel to be quite easy to read - I flew through the majority of it in a day. But I was disappointed in the lack of attention to historical detail.
I would say I'm less bothered by the anachronistic language, especially because it flowed so well, than I was by the immense lack of detail. Nothing about this story felt grounded in the 1700s, other than a handful of mentions of the Seven Years War. Mostly, I was looking for details about clothing or church doctrine that would ground this story more firmly in its setting. Unfortunately, I found mostly un-descriptive references to dresses and undergarments and some very basic religious bigotry. I absolutely love opulent historical descriptions - give me fabrics and food and tallow candlelight and bumping carriages - so I was really very disappointed. This story could just as easily have been set last week and it wouldn't have made much of a difference.
While a fun, feminist power story with some not-very-scary eerie moments, a historical horror novel, this is not. Much to my disappointment.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Torture
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: War
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Animal cruelty and Biphobia
- 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
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Child abuse and Child death
Moderate: Kidnapping
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Transphobia and War
- 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
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual violence, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Child abuse
- 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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racism, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, and Stalking
Minor: Animal death and Bullying