Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

18 reviews

theomancy's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.25

I was just so not sold on the central romance of this book and the conclusion of it left me really dissatisfied. There were a lot of world building concepts at the beginning I found really interesting that I didn't feel like really went anywhere either, unfortunately.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Stalking, and Sexual harassment

bookbunnie's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Read this if you’re interested in the histories and abilities of multiple vampire subspecies, love a sweet and simple lovestruck character, and enjoy the classic dynamic of detectives, cops and criminals all being equivalently crooked. 

Don’t read this if you want the elegant prose of ethereal vampire angst, need a lot of character development to be satisfied, or want a villain with substance. 

This book explores the characters’ different relationships to solitude in part by examining their living conditions and in part by their actions taken to preserve, avoid, or accept their loneliness. 

It was a simple and easy read, gritty but not unpalatable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Genocide, Gun violence, and Police brutality

Minor: Confinement

hlhayes7's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Drug abuse and Police brutality

mswarning's review against another edition

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, and Torture

Minor: Addiction, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

malhale's review

dark medium-paced

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

3.75

sad ending

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality

Moderate: Animal cruelty

There are cops / immigration agents asking for papers.

aardwyrm's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-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

4.0

There's some law that books in certain genres have to claim to be reinventing or rulebreaking for some reason. This book does not reinvent vampires. It's a fairly straightforward if grim urban fantasy vampire-themed thriller. Like most of the author's stuff, there's a wonderfully built world and a lot of lush prose inhabited by characters who are rather flatly by the book with no chemistry. Fun to read. Good for Halloween?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Murder

stormywolf's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

 This month's pick for Maven's Vampire Book Club is a recent reprint following the author's wildly successful Mexican Gothic, which I admittedly haven't read yet. So, other than knowing that this author has gotten a lot of praise for her suspenseful and beautiful writing, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. I'm not one who usually enjoys gritty stories (I'm a bit put off by the mention of "narco-vampires"), but a kick-ass vampire on the run with a charming human sounds like it could be fun, right? Right?

Read my full review at The Wolf's Den

Overall, it took a while, but like the puppy that is Domingo, this story grew on me. It's definitely not for everyone, with dark and adult themes very much overwhelming the 'vampire romance' vibes, but so long as you're prepared for a somewhat gritty vampire noir, I think you'll enjoy it as much as I did. The fast-paced writing and unique world made it easy to fly through, though you may, like me, need more time added to the end to fully digest everything, but luckily the newer version offers just that with its Encyclopaedia Vampirica, author interview, discussion questions, and more. So if you're in the mood for a stand-alone vampire book with unique lore, strong female characters, a bit of sci-fi punk, and a lot lurking beneath the surface, then try sinking your teeth into this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Torture, Xenophobia, and Grief

Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Adult is 23, Minor is 17. Hate crime & Xenophobia is against vampires as a race. Dogs are injured

The main dog gets shot, but survives

There is mention of various crimes being ignored by the police - either from corruption or from sexism - but none appears directly in the story.

womanwill's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and Medical trauma