Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

10 reviews

ahopper7's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.0

This was the most unique vampire story I’ve read to date. I loved the world building and the lore with the use of multiple different cultures to build different types of vampires. I’ve also discovered I LOVE neon noir in books, the gritty and dark setting within Mexico City was so captivating, I think atmosphere is SMG biggest strength. I was also here for the different POVs and the way the plot progressed, and I think the bitter sweet ending was the best suited for the type of story.

This book was about to be a 3 star if she had killed off the dog though, I was going to be pissed buuuut she didn’t.

The only reason this wasn’t a 5 star for me is the romance. Just like with Mexican Gothic, it felt completely unnecessary. With Domingo and Atl, their dynamic made way more sense as friends/like family vibes,

and I’ll always get the ick when there’s a sex scene with an under 18 character and someone older.

So I would have enjoyed this story a lot more without that subplot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexual content, and Vomit

ford_defect's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Violence, Blood, and Abandonment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Vomit

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

bookswithpao's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Violence, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Hate crime, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Drug use, Excrement, and Alcohol

megsbookishadventures's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Drug abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Colonisation

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Police brutality, and Grief

rachelfayreads's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault

booksthatburn's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• 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? Yes

4.5

Atl is a vampire hiding out in Mexico City after her family was murdered. Domingo is a former street kid, now working as a scrap picker for a rag and bone man. When he has a chance encounter with Atl on the subway, she invites him to her home to drink from him. What Atl intended as a single meal turns out to be the beginning of a partnership as they work on fleeing Mexico City together. They're pursued by Nick, a Necros who is obsessed with Atl, and Ana Aguirre, a detective who thought her transfer to Mexico City would mean dealing with fewer vampires than she used to.

The rapport between Domingo and Atl is excellently-written, driven by Domingo's adoration of Atl, and Atl's need for Domingo's help but distaste for feeling weak. Atl is using up every one of her mother's contacts along the way, relying on wisps of goodwill and loyalty from humans and vampires who assumed their obligations died long before Atl's mother did. This results in a tangle of one-off and repeating characters as Atl and Domingo navigate this loose network of contacts, just trying to get out of the city alive. 

The worldbuilding is immersive, built through stories, buildings, and how the characters move through this alternate version of Mexico City where not only are vampires real but there are several kinds of them. Some (like Atl) are Tlahuihpochtli descended from Aztec blood drinker temple priestesses, but human colonization and the encroachment of other vampires, like Necros and Revenants, have made things more complicated for recent generations. Several decades ago humans found out vampires are real, and many places promptly tried to legislate them out of existence. Mexico City is one such "vampire free" zone, a situation which causes problems for Atl.

The plot is a web of pursuers and pursued, beginning in earnest when one of Atl's pursuers gets sloppy and the police find a dead human. It's a dance of obsession, violence, and death, as Atl tries to use Domingo without him spooking, while Domingo finds himself falling in love with her and not minding being used.

I loved every minute, and am extremely happy with the ending. Don't miss this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

30something_reads's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-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? Yes

4.25

4.25 ⭐

I had such a great time reading this, especially considering I don't typically read Noir. I also listened along on audio while reading, and I think that really helped set the tone.

Dark, gritty, and very violent. This is the story of, Atl, a young Tlahuihpochin vampire who is on the run from a Necros vampire clan. She reluctantly teams up with a street kid from Mexico City, Domingo, in order to evade vampires, cops, and all matter of criminals that are looking to take her down. 

The vampire lore in this was just freaking fantastic. I loved the descriptions of the species and different subspecies and how the author wove it all together in this world. 

I can imagine this being a fantastic movie or graphic novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Child death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Grief, and Death of parent

marareading's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

3.5

This was definitely outside my comfort zone as far as genre is concerned, and I genuinely liked it. This is a vampire crime noir. Imagine a gritty urban crime story based in Mexico City, with battling vampire drug cartels. Atl is a vampire and is on the run for her life. She is the daughter of one of the largest cartel families in South America, and another cartel vampire family is after her. Meanwhile, the cops/government are not fond of vampires and trying to extinguish them, considering them a threat. Atl takes up with a street kid, Domingo, who is overly curious, sometimes annoying and now they are in it together on the run. 

This is a brutal and bloody story. It is so well written. I really enjoyed it. Noir is not usually something I reach for, but I can never resist a vampire story. Definitely recommend if you like crime stories or vampires.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

Multiple POVs and a great modern take on a classic spooky creature- vampires. So many different kinds of vampires from different places are mentioned throughout which was nice to see instead of the typical/well known european vampire images we see all the time. How some characters stories ended was a little unsatisfying though, but I need to stop thinking so many characters always need happy or fully fleshed out endings. This story also touches on colonialism when talking about the europeans and their continental vampires arriving in central and south america.

very glad the dog doesn't die tragically in this book! I was nervous and a bit sad when Cualli was mentioned to probably be dead

Also quick note, I felt a bit weird about how Atl and Domingo's relationship went considering it was mentioned she was about 20 (yeah I get she's a diff species but still) and he was 17. I know at first she was like "no way" and had set that boundary, but then they did the do and I was not okay with an adult/minor situation

.

It seemed to drag a little bit in some parts, but overall, a great and surprisingly quick read. I've enjoyed so much from this author and it's a goal that I read everything she has done. 
Def check out content warnings for this as it is a vampire tale so there is a lot of blood.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Cursing, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Torture, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Classism

arce's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.25

Oh good Lord, where do I start?
It definitely was not, what I was expecting from the blurb. There it sounded like Domingo was 12 years old and Atl more like 30+, and they were forming some sort of makeshift family. Very disappointing to read about two stupid teenagers (yeah, I know, Atl's 23, but her behaviours tells something different).

I hated nearly everything and everyone in this book, but least of all Bernardino, which makes him my favorite humanoid character. My favorite character was by far Cualli, the dog. At least the dog didn't get killed, else I'd have thrown the book out the window.
Chapter 32 was very bad, but chapter 34 was way worse, but the worst by far was chapter 40. Atl's now suddenly trying to behave like an adult? I'm not buying it.
I definitely wasn't sad about anyone's death, every single one was deserved.

The idea behind the different vampire species is however very interesting, and I liked the appendix.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail