Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

44 reviews

wanderlust_romance's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

I found this story to be interesting and a refreshing change of pace from my regular reading material, especially when it comes to genre - dark, noir, fantasy set in Mexico City with vampires, and a minor romantic subplot. Certain Dark Things is told in three different character points of view (third person voice for all). Aspects of the book I enjoyed:

• The human character (and eventual love interest) Domingo. He was kind, awkward, a bit naive, but genuine and forthright. He was also a refuse collector. He was able to see what others had discarded and see that these objects still had value and worth. His work is that of the unseen. It was interesting to see him put forth in the limelight as a main character, when for much of the story his vampire counterpart Atl must remain in the shadows.
• The mystery and chase surrounding the clan of vampires in pursuit of Atl, and consequently Domingo.
• Atl's struggle with their feelings for Domingo. As a vampire in Mexico City, and on the run from a dangerous vampire clan out to get her, Atl is also reeling from the violent loss of her mother and haunted by the taunts of her deceased older sister. And in a city where being a vampire is a danger in and of itself (Atl is a vampire, to be clear), she is lonely but feels unworthy and undeserving of the affection offered to her so easily.
• This was dark and gory and fast paced and violent in the moments it needed to be, without being gratuitous or over the top.
• Loved the bits of Aztec mythology woven into the story

The only aspect I struggled with was the POV of Anna, the police officer, though to a lesser extent than perhaps American policing. Anna may have clapped back at the corrupt actions and misogynist attitudes of her contemporaries, but she was never painted as a hero. So there's that -\_(' '/)_/-

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

mulberrywizard's review

dark fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

as a vampire lover, i really loved the folklore aspects of the worldbuilding. it made it stand out and feel different from other vampire media i've seen.

i like domingo and atl as characters, but i didn't care for their romance. i think they would've been better as just friends.

when they separate at the end it's definitely the best decision for both of them imo.

i almost wish it wasn't as fast paced as it is, and that it delved even deeper into the vampire politics and history. but that's just me being a vampire nerd lol. overall i did enjoy it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Vomit and Alcohol

marysespieces's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

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

jdieperink's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Vomit, Police brutality, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Drug use, Gun violence, and Medical content

dreaming_cosmos'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? It's complicated

4.0

The romance plot is very annoying, imo, but the rest of the story is compelling enough to get me through it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Misogyny, and Kidnapping

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

iamsammie27's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Drug use and Alcohol

Minor: Death and Death of parent

bessadams's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, and Death of parent

queer_bookwyrm's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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? No

3.5

3.5 ⭐ CW: Violence, blood, gore, violent/gruesome deaths, death of a parent, substance use, sex work mention, sexual content, colonization mention, dog fighting mention

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is neon-noir horror that gave me Bladerunner vibes, but instead of androids, vampires. I have found that this author is very hit or miss for me. I did enjoy parts of the novel, but it was just so slow for such a short book. It was also very gruesome, which is not my favorite thing. 

We follow Atl, a birdlike vampire on the run from a rival vampire gang. We get several povs from people either going after Atl or assisting her. Domingo is the sweet, naive one that should be protected at all costs. Atl appears to be a badass, but is really a spoiled vampire who made a grave mistake. I really didn't like Nick, the vampire from the rival gang. He was violent and misogynistic. 

As I said, this was incredibly slow and not much character development. I did like learning about the different types of vampires from different cultures. It was cool seeing Aztec culture represented through Atl. This was just fine. I'm wondering if I should continue to read this author. I really enjoyed Gods of Jade and Shadow, but that's about it so far. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Death of parent and Colonisation

Minor: Animal cruelty