under harsh lights

whump reviews: spoiler free book reviews with a focus on the whump in them | minors DNI | adult | they/them | nsfw!

[morbiditea]

intro

hello! i read books very fast & i love whump. therefore, i have whump reviews which is a spoiler-free whump-focused review of books i have read.

please feel free to submit book suggestions and requests for review! i am also a registered nurse, so i love answering medical whump questions. <3

oc list

[morbiditea]

Whump Review: Dawn of the North

Note: this is not the first book in a series, and this post may contain unavoidable spoilers as a result! Click here to see the whump review of the first book in the series.

Summary: Silla is now hiding a deeper, darker secret while she strives to be the symbol that her people need her to be. Meanwhile, Saga is struggling both to save another land and return to her own before it is too late.

Whump rating: 3.5/5

Tropes: panic, whipping by parent, interrogation, frost bite leading to amputation, nerve damage, loss of autonomy, memory problems, PTSD, burns, battle wounds, puking, attempted poisoning, near drowning, unconsciousness, loss of prosthetic limb, one-handed stitches, hypothermia.

Review: I went into this book thinking it was the final installment of a trilogy, only to learn to my devastation and delight that it's actually book 3 of 5. Truly upsetting to learn I had to wait, thrilling to discover I get to return to this world again. I particularly enjoyed the battle for control that Silla faced in her own mind, and there was generally enough whump to keep me entertained.

Goodreads link.

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Whump Review: Witchlore

Summary: Shapeshifter Lando was directly responsible for their girlfriend's death--and their new friend Bastian is willing to help them face the risk of the revival spell.

Whump rating: 3/5

Tropes: pressure from parents, past suicide attempt, panic attack, flashbacks, magical bullying, extreme cold, near drowning, fighting with caretaker, sexual harassment, transphobia, caretaker punches somebody, blood loss, magical healing

Review: This book isn't very physically focused, but the emotional struggles carry through the whole book. It's also the first one I've read with a they/them whumpee, which was delightful. It gets a liiitle "then everybody clapped" at one point, but I did manage to forgive that and move on in appreciation of the whump present.

Goodreads link.

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Whump Review: You Weren't Meant to be Human

Summary: Crane is living a somewhat-happy life with a somewhat-okay boyfriend in service of the hive, right up until his body is taken over for something he doesn't want.

Whump rating: 4/5

Tropes: pregnancy, puking, general malaise, suicidal whumpee (ideation and attempts), nonverbal whumpee, locked in a trunk with a corpse, shot, stitches, punched in the stitches, dissociation, constant supervision, forced to destroy friendship, broken fingers as punishment, self mutilation, homoerotic wound fingering with worms

Review: Read the warnings before you go into this book! Being that it is a horror, it does a fantastic job of making you incredibly uncomfortable the entire duration of the book. It's well spread throughout the book, meaning you don't get many breaks from the hits that keep on coming.

Goodreads link.

[morbiditea]

Whump Review: When the Tides Held the Moon

Summary: After creating a tank on comission, Benigno ends up participating in the capture of a merman. After spending time caring for the merman, the two become closer until a boiling point is reached.

Whump rating: 2.5/5

Tropes: chronic lung disease, chloroform, capture, walking through breathing exercises, held while crying, slow & wasting illness, fire, mob violence, shot, identity struggles

Review: I love a whumpee who doesn't know who they are and struggles with figuring that out! Especially in this case, where Benny is also a whumpee in the situation but participates in both contributing to and easing the suffering of Rio, the merman. While it isn't the main focus, the whump is tasteful and adds to the story quite well.

Goodreads link.

[morbiditea]

Whump Review: The Sovereign

Note: this is not the first book in a series, and this post may contain unavoidable spoilers as a result! Click here to see the whump review of the first book in the series.

Summary: There ain't no rest for the wicked--and that includes Luca and Touraine, who must do their best to pivot to new problems the moment their previous ones have been defeated.

Whump rating: 5/5

Tropes: whipping, chronic pain, plague, shooting, death by sword, trying & failing to run on injured leg, animal bites, digging bullets out of flesh (no pain management), magical healing, passing out, captivity, bound, whumpee picking fights, struggle with identity, near collapse, caught escaping by whumper, forced to chose who to kill or spare, hand to hand combat, forced to torture, stabbing, puking from pain, in & out of consciousness, delirium, cannibalism

Review: AAAHHH. A really delicious amount of whump, absolutely delivers in every possible way with the many whump opportunities this world has set up. Every single method of whump you can think of in this setting gets used, and it hits well every time.

Goodreads link.

[morbiditea]

Whump Review: The Faithless

Note: this is not the first book in a series, and this post may contain unavoidable spoilers as a result! Click here to see the whump review of the first book in the series.

Summary: Returned to her empire and still facing the problem of her uncle, Lucas must determine what her next steps involve, and how exactly Tourmaine will factor into them.

Whump rating: 3.5/5

Tropes: PTSD, cold, creepy/dehumanizing whumper, fainting, infection, swordplay, poisoning, near death, stress puking, stabbing, blows with a gun, whumpee that grabs power and becomes unrecognizable, struggling with magic

Review: While this book isn't as physical whump heavy as the last one, the internal conflicts do not slow down one bit! Everybody gets their fair share of suffering in this book, and it sets up the next book very well.

Goodreads link.

Next book in series: The Sovereign

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Whump Review: The Unbroken

Summary: Tourmaline must decide where her loyalty falls: the empire that captured her as a child and raised her to be a skilled soldier, or the country she was born to. The princess of Baudelaire sees her for what she is: the perfect opportunity to make moves towards knocking her uncle off the throne.

Whump rating: 5/5

Tropes: long term captivity, raised as a child soldier for the other side, drugging, capturing, flashbacks, living weapon flavored, beating, knife used for torture, rescue from torture/captivity, caregiving, whipping, chronic pain, traumatic leg amputation, beat to shit by ones own mom (not abuse believe it or not), concussion, shot, knocked out, magical healing, passed out from illness, and then also a whole bunch more getting shot.

Review: I love it when you give lesbians swords, cannibalism, and magic! I don't particularly enjoy political stories, but this book manages to strike a great balance between political and military conflicts. While there are slow parts to the book, it always serves up excellent whump and continuous internal conflicts distressing the characters (my fave) during the fast parts.

Goodreads link.

Next book in series: The Faithless

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Whump Review: Compound Fracture

Summary: Miles sets out to put an end to a decades-long blood feud that has culminated in multiple deaths, while the ghost of his ancestor tags along.

Whump rating: 3.5/5

Tropes: severe beating, hospitalization, homophobia, transphobia, permanent facial deformity as a result of assault, burn injury, shot.

Review: Set in a poverty-plagued mining town, this story has more emotional brutality than physical whump, but the whump that does exist gets great mileage. The plot is definitely a bigger focus than the whump, but I still found it enjoyable.

Goodreads link.

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Whump Review: The Spirit Bares Its Teeth

Summary: Silas is diagnosed with a magical illness and sent off to a sanitorium/finishing school.

Whump rating: 4.5/5

Tropes: fantisizing about whump, enucleation, unlicensed surgeon, surgery without anesthesia, autistic whumpee, trans whumpee, self doubt, autistic masking, administering stitches to self, sexual assault, dissociation, bathtub surgery abortion, freezing to death.

Review: This is very medical/Victorian focused whump, and it has a fantastic atmosphere to it. It has a small element of magical whump as well. Overall, a good read for those who enjoy surgical and medical whump!

Goodreads link.

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Whump Review: First, Become Ashes

Summary: Forcibly removed from the commune and magic he grew up with, Lark is determined to free himself and carry out his directives.

Whump rating: 3.5/5

Tropes: cult setting, brainwashing, noncon whump/nsfwhump, use of hot iron, lashing/whipping by other whumpees, codependent relationships, dizziness, shock, being shot, running, questionable magic.

Review: Told from multiple points of view, this book leaves you vaguely wondering what exactly is and isn't real, but the whump does come through nontheless. There are POV sections from both a whumpee who is still believing in the cult, and one who is no longer brainwashed. It's definitely a different type of book, but very enjoyable if you like the niche content.

Goodreads link.

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Whump Review: Hazelthorn

Summary: Evander gets slightly distracted from being sickly and obsessing over his enemy when his guardian (Laurie's grandfather) drops dead in front of him.

Whump rating: 5/5

Tropes: pinching at self, biting self, eating non food items, living with the person who tried to murder you for no good reason, child abuse, purposefully ordering a meal for whumpee that they can't eat due to a disability, limb deformity/loss of use of limb, forced medication/drugging, forced touching, tearing out stitches with ya fingers, fever, lingering effects of drugs, asking permission to touch, amnesia, learning disability, hunger/starvation, blackouts, medical episodes, blood loss, sarcastic whumpee, angry whumpee, amputation of a limb without anesthesia, surgery by a non-surgeon, vivisection, buried alive, lack of autonomy, shame, rage, grief.

Review: EEEUUUUGH I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH THAT I WENT OUT AND GOT A COPY OF IT IMMEDIATELY. The PROSE. The EMOTIONS. The realizations and sinking feelings and terrible happenings. The narrator for the audiobook put a fantastic amount of flavor into it that I think really enhanced the experience as well.

Goodreads link.

[morbiditea]

Whump Review: Don't Let The Forest In

Summary: Two whump creators discover that one of them has creations (read: monsters) coming to life every night that they must defeat. As the challenges continue to mount, the two of them must come to terms with what might need to happen to destroy the monsters for good.

Whump rating: 4/5

Tropes: child abuse, ditching self care, whumpee isn't eating, school setting, teen whumpees, panic attacks, doubt in reality, stoic whumpee has a panic attack (yes this is different), sleep deprivation.

Review: This was an excellent quick read! The author has a greatly enjoyable prose, and the emotions are so incredibly visceral thanks to that. The gay yearning cuts almost as deeply as the whump AND the main character is canonically asexual. I'm also starting to think that I may just be into botanical horror?

"For a vicious moment, Andrew thought about slipping his fingers into Thomas' cut. Taking hold of his rib and breaking it. Pulling the soft and crumbling bone from his chest and sewing it into his own. They'd be together forever, rib against rib, fused in gore and bone and adoration."

Goodreads link.

[morbiditea]

Whump Review: Docile

Summary: Elisha sells himself into the current system to eliminate his family's debt. His contract is purchased by a trillionaire scientist who expects that Elisha will be taking his family's legacy: a drug called Docilin that makes Dociles compliant.

Whump rating: 5/5

Tropes: physical punishments such as kneeling on rice/confined spaces, branding, lab whump, dehumanization, nsfwhump/non-con on multiple levels & with different contexts, use as a slave, noncon drugging, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, puking, nightmares, whumper who sees himself as a good guy, brainwashing, loss of autonomy, commitment to a psych ward (just not who you think will be), deprogramming brainwashing, rejection by family.

Review: This is one of those books that people will have differing opinions on. I do have to say that for the first half of the book, it DEFINITELY had more of an erotica/kink oriented book feeling to it and I wasn't that into it. I found it far more compelling from a whump perspective during the second half of the book. That's where there's more focus on the emotional consequences for the characters and lil moral debates including by whumpee about whether or not he too is a perpetrator.

Goodreads link.

[morbiditea]

Whump Review: Kingdom of Claw

Note: this is not the first book in a series, and this post may contain unavoidable spoilers as a result! Click here to see the whump review of the first book in the series.

Summary: Silla continues on her journey, and is made to discover more about herself than she really wants to.

Whump rating: 4.5/5

Tropes: Emotional neglect, parental whumper, blood letting, dissociation, flashbacks, panic, reluctant caretaker, blood loss, shot with arrow, whumpee resisting basic care, relapse temptation, five vs 1, knocked out mid fight, loss of powers at a critical time, near death experience, mandhandled, branding, agoraphobia.

Review: Healthy dosing of emotional and physical whump throughout, and lovely explorations of feelings related to said whump. Multiple POVs, and just a well written book with a cool magic system!

Goodreads link.

Next book in the series:

[morbiditea]

living weapon whose handler has stuck a sign saying "beware of dog" on the door after weapon finally got their own space

[morbiditea]

Whump Review: The Road of Bones

Summary: After Silla's father is killed, she is left running almost blindly for her life. Kept sheltered from certain parts of the world, she ends up in the wagon belonging to a vicious mercenary crew who begrudgingly take her in.

Whump rating: 4/5

Tropes: untrained whumpee, team trains whumpee, choked into unconsciousness, severe chronic headaches, drug dependency, drug withdrawal, drug craving, hallucinations, stabbings, character death, forced drugging, turned in for money, held captive, threatened noncon, flashbacks, feeling of failure from living weapon, reveal of personal history unknown to whumpee, identity reveal, hiding from enemy forces.

Review: I'm slightly biased, because this book covered some of my all-time favorite tropes and I found it quite enjoyable. Set in a magical Viking-inspired story, the book does a great job of exploring addiction and several whumpy events happening to a naive whumpee. I also just generally really liked how the author explored the emotions the characters had!

Goodreads link.

Next book in series: Kingdom of Claw