Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Perfect Days by Raphael Montes

16 reviews

_kristinsworld's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny tense fast-paced

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

4.0

A lonely med school student kidnaps the girl of his dreams and embarks on a twisted journey across Brazil.

Teo had way more than a few screws loose. Look up synonyms for ‘delusional’ and I guarantee you will see his name at the top of the list. 😭 All it took was a brief encounter at a bbq to ignite his unhealthy fixation with aspiring screenwriter, Clarice. Teo was fully convinced that she was warming up to the idea of their “relationship” and even showed some annoyance towards her understandable uneasiness while being held captive by him. In spite of the gory scenes, there were some surprisingly humorous moments. I couldn’t help but to giggle at some of the wild comments made in his inner dialogue: “Patricia was wearing a dress as old and crumpled as herself.” 🤣

This story was so sick and freakin twisted, and dare I say it…I enjoyed almost every minute of it. I always find it fascinating reading from the psychotic character’s POV. The ending was absolutely sickening. 🥴

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt

radtj's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.25

The story felt kind of repetitive, but I did enjoy

when the tables were turned and Teo got the shit beat out of him lmao.

Interesting premise, but the ending felt like a cop out.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting

acalla7's review against another edition

dark funny tense fast-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, and Stalking

anntokki's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

1.0

read this for a book club with friends, not for me and I didn’t like it 🥴

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Violence

Moderate: Ableism and Homophobia

detrasystem's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

erennebe's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Biphobia, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

__helena__'s review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, Car accident, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Ableism, Body horror, Blood, and Alcohol

onemorepagecrew's review against another edition

4.5

Perfect Days by Raphael Montes (translated from Portuguese to English by Alison Entrekin) was a messed up and disturbing book that I absolutely could not put down.  If you like a wince-inducing thriller that borders on horror, this is one to pick up.  Thank you to @tbretc on IG for the recommendation! 

 

The story centers on Teo, a medical student who is caring for his paraplegic mother and living an isolated, non-social life.  A chance encounter with a woman, Clarice, kick starts the most unexpected and unnerving sequence of events, as Teo kidnaps Clarice and forces her to be his girlfriend.  There is one scene that will probably stay in my nightmares forever.  Go in knowing nothing else about the plot! 

 

BUT, do know this… the ableism is thick in this book and it’s hard to tell if it’s used intentionally to build Teo’s character or if the author is insensitive with wording.  Teo has all these ideas about what people “should” be like and it adds to how the reader feels about him so that could be the reason, but I just don’t know.  I expected to see something about it in the acknowledgements, but it’s not mentioned.  

 

You know what WAS in the acknowledgements though… this book is dedicated to his mom who asked him to stop writing such violent books and write a love story instead.  I laughed out loud that this was his way of doing it. 

 

This was my first book in the 2023 challenge to read #12translatedbooksin2023 and my first book of the year.  Cheers to many more! 

 

Content warnings: Body horror, Kidnapping, Death, Violence 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, and Kidnapping

thenonbinaryc's review against another edition

3.0

Would have been a great book if not for the ableism. 
The correct language for people with dwarfism is people first language or ‘little people’. A lot of people with dwarfism dislike the term dwarf because it plays into the Disney mythical creature ideology that’s both dehumanising and greatly infantilising. The author also repeatedly talks about how disabled people are burdens. And also made a comment about how pathetic it was that someone ‘looked like an Indian’. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Violence, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

ninafrancis's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Biphobia, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Vomit, and Car accident