Reviews tagging 'Gore'

The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enríquez

115 reviews

solliereads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

This was genuinely the most interestingly written collection of short stories that I've ever read. Enríquez has a way of writing that reminds me specifically of the saying about not being able to look away from a car crash - I felt equally mesmerized and disturbed, unable to put the book down.

My favourites/standouts were - as seems to be popular from the reviews - Kids Who Come Back, as well as Meat, The Lookout Tower and Where Are You, Dear Heart?

I would strongly recommend checking out the warnings other reviewers have included for this book, as I likely haven't included all of them, but I would absolutely recommend adding this book to your to-read pile if you're interested in dark horror with twist endings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Blood, and Child death

Moderate: Alcohol, Gore, Rape, Transphobia, and Cannibalism

siobhanward's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

3.5

 This was a tough read in parts, so please check triggers before reading! Enriquez has created a varied and interesting collection of short stories, while still managing to weave in common themes throughout. The stories were creepy and off-putting in a way that really worked for the collection and kept me on edge the whole time. I'm definitely curious about Enriquez and look forward to reading more in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Sexual violence

itsjoenna's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

i was just looking for a book set in Argentina and this one came up, so i didn't have any expectations. i was confused at first, but soon it got me interested. so dark, disturbing, and strange, but i like it. i enjoyed some of the stories, some were just so-so. my favourite chapter is "kids who come back", i love it sooo much, the mystery got me hooked, i want more!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, and Suicide

Moderate: Cannibalism and Gore

lizziea229's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Body horror, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Death, Drug abuse, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Vomit, Child death, Cursing, Mental illness, Addiction, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

krhe's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

El relato de los problemas de corazón... Esto no lo voy a olvidar en mi puta vida. 

ALSO LO DE LOS CRÍOS REAPARECIDOS WTF

Trigger warnings: todos 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Racial slurs, Self harm, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide, Cannibalism, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Gaslighting, Gore, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Dementia, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Murder, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Child abuse, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexism

diegocanread's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Racism, Violence, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Self harm, Terminal illness, Dementia, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Blood, Murder, Drug abuse, Gore, and Suicidal thoughts

Es una locura algunas veces

pehanicovaaa's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.5

The stories itself were good,not all of them but my personal fav are Where are you,dear heart? The Well and Back When We Talked To Dead, only thing that botheted me was the endings,they don’t do the story justice,it didn’t wrap up the story as it should 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Cannibalism, Mental illness, and Pedophilia

ava_lanche's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Twelve eerie stories that thrive in the mysteries they create! These mysteries are not meant to be solved, only experienced through the eyes of different Argentine women whose voices have been quieted, either by shame and insanity or by the ever-present fear of it.

Hailing from impoverished slums, trafficked children haunt the streets; raped and murdered girls reappear in silence; mothers curse their daughters; girls are possessed and scarred yet no one believes them. Crushed rib cages and torn entrails – anatomical obsessions turn bloody. Here, what is not said is the most powerful.

As with most collections of stories, some pieces are stronger than others. Many of these stories feel a little... unfinished. Some endings are unsatisfactory, which is such a shame, as most of the premises are unusually creative and thought-provoking.

However, "The Well", "Where Are You, Dear Heart?" and "Rambla Triste" were definite highlights. I also liked "The Cart" and "The Kids Who Come Back".

The stories work well together, and create a Buenos Aires that is filled with danger – physical, mental and paranormal. The poisons of the city has taken on a ghostly shape, and the repercussions are felt mostly by the women, whether it's their bodies or their minds that are marked by violence, and whether the sins are committed by people or by ghosts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Self harm, Addiction, Sexual harassment, Rape, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Body horror, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Child death, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Murder, Medical trauma, Death, Alcoholism, Trafficking, Suicide, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Violence, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Gore, and Excrement

librarymouse's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.0

This was a quick read. The shorter stories felt like an RL Stine book, but vulgar. "Kids Who Come Back" had unnecessary use of transphobic slurs, but was the longest and most engaging story in the book.
Copious references to and depictions of bodily fluid didn't necessarily add to the horror, but made reading this a bit disgusting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Sexual content, Cursing, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Addiction, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Suicide, Transphobia, Blood, Child death, and Self harm

Moderate: Abandonment

woolgatherer's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

2.5

I was really looking forward to this collection of short stories, especially as someone who enjoys some haunting atmospheres. Enríquez does a great job crafting an eerie Buenos Aires and some very dark plots for her stories, though I found some were more convincing than others. Unfortunately, I felt that something was missing in these stories and I really struggled to stay focused on this collection. I want to say the issue might be that almost all of them fell flat at the end for me. It could be that the author wanted to leave an air of mystery at the end of these stories, but I found that she was a bit unsuccessful on this front. It should also be noted that the short story, “Kids Who Come Back,” has a lot of transphobic slurs that I thought were entirely unnecessary and didn’t serve a purpose to the story (and, in fact, ruined it).

I’m still interested in reading Enríquez’s other works, but this collection was a bit of a letdown.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Self harm, Cannibalism, Body horror, and Death

Moderate: Blood, Trafficking, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Suicide, and Transphobia

Minor: Drug use and Alcohol