kllyholt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Don’t recommend.
Graphic: Misogyny, Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, Murder, Stalking, Gun violence, Violence, Sexual violence, and Gaslighting
laguerrelewis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Police brutality, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/injury detail, Suicide attempt, Child death, Death, Abandonment, Cursing, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Medical content, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, and Racism
c_dmckinney's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Torture, Gun violence, Police brutality, Stalking, Classism, Cursing, Death, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, Misogyny, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Injury/injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Blood, Cancer, Gore, and Emotional abuse
travelseatsreads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
A great fun read which plays of many horror/slasher tropes but I felt the end got a little too Rambo-ish for my liking which distracted from my enjoyment of some great twists.
I really enjoyed Grady's writing style though so will be going back for more.
Full review to come.
Graphic: Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Toxic friendship, Grief, and Stalking
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Animal death
uraveragelesbianreader's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Injury/injury detail
aseel_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Death, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Violence, Sexual violence, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
ricksilva's review
- 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
So the concept is a support group for survivors of the "real events" that inspired those slasher films. The author uses renamed but pretty obvious stand-ins for Halloween, Friday the Thirteenth, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Scream, Silent Night Deadly Night (really kind of an amalgam of holiday-season horror tropes), and (I am guessing a bit here; this one got the the fewest details) Leprechaun.
The survivors, now middle-aged, meet regularly for group therapy with a therapist specializing in survivors of violence. Now, the violence has found them again. Holiday season massacre survivor Lynette had dedicated her life to isolation and self-protection, but her carefully-laid defenses fall apart and events go out of control rapidly.
This was a fun story with a lot of nostalgia and some solid deconstructing of the horror movie tropes that inspired it. The characters are all flawed and scarred, but they were great fun to cheer on. The plot was loaded with twists, some predictable, but a decent amount unexpected.
The story is extremely violent, especially in the flashbacks to the horror movie scenarios, which are made more disturbing because we get to see the realist aftermaths of movies that normally cut to credits the moment the action is over. The grief, trauma, and long-term injuries give further impact to the violence of the various murder sprees.
The worldbuilding based on the premise that all of the slasher films were actual movies but were adaptations of the stories of real crimes was intriguing, and there was enough left unanswered (especially about this world's version of Nightmare on Elm Street) to warrant a sequel. Which is something every good (and almost every bad) slasher film should have.
Graphic: Gore, Injury/injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Violence, Blood, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Child death
Moderate: Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, and Police brutality
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
alexisgarcia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Stalking, Terminal illness, Murder, Sexual harassment, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Gore, Addiction, and Excrement
jessthanthree's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Death, Grief, Gaslighting, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Car accident, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Confinement, and Forced institutionalization
childofmongreldogs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Kept me on my toes, constantly guessing what would happen next and who was at fault. Cast of characters was sadly a bit dull and less fleshed out than one would hope for.
Moderate: Death, Police brutality, Addiction, Blood, Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Injury/injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape