Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Turnout

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

greatexpectations77's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.75

Duuuuude this was intense. I am SO glad that I gave another Abbott book a try because I just really felt like the other one I read by her was like meeting someone on an off-day. This was so incredibly stressful, and Derek was gross as HELL and I was so torn between putting the book down to get away from him and desperately hoping that he would STOP TALKING. I think the claustrophia of the house and the weird relationship between the 3 MCs was so well-crafted. It maybe slowed a tiny bit after the climax (if that is

Derek's death

). Also - did anyone else wonder if when Marie was making comments that she

had something in her bits that no one else had, was she suggesting that she was perhaps intersex?

Anyhoodles, great tension. Very into reading more from Ms. Abbott.

Content Warnings

elliott_the_clementine's review against another edition

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dark 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

Wildly dark - should have read the trigger warnings.

Update (01.14.2023): Upon thinking about this book at the end of 2023, I think part of the issue with The Turnout is that the book does not seem to really know what it is trying to communicate or invoke. The book swings, but the game is not baseball, it is curling, and the book has interrupted to perform an impromptu interpretive golf tournament. It just does not really seem to make a ton of sense or have a cohesive message, though it is clear that Megan Abbott writes lovely prose.

Content Warnings

callistabanks's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

3.0

This was a super weird read. The way it was written was sort of weird and a little chaotic, which I didn't really like, it made it a bit more difficult to read. The writing of the book, while sort of jumpy and a bit incoherent, was well detailed almost more than it needed to be in some places.
The storyline was also sort of odd, the second half of the book was much better than the first, I really enjoyed when it got into the thrill of it all with the deaths. The ending definitely took me by surprise, which I liked, it was unexpected but it sort of worked. I really liked how this book showed the realities of a dancer/ballerina, from the hard truth of what they go through as children, toughening their feet and also the jealousy and bullying that can happen (for poor Bailey who was chosen for Clara), but also how injuries can ruin it all, as seen in Charlie, who barely even taught after his injuries. I also loved how it spoke of pain being their friend and that's what they were taught by their mother, which is very much a dancer's view and a harsh reality of being one.

*** Spoilers beyond this point ***

I thought their family dynamic was super freaking weird, from Dara and Marie's discussions as children about their bodies, to their mother and father's constant fighting, to their mother taking in Charlie as a "son" but also getting with him and then Dara marrying him after the fact. Not to mention the constant implying of there being some sort of incest between Dara and Marie, or some sort of weird dynamic in which they both shared Charlie, or they were some weirdly incestuous throuple. I also thought that Marie and Dara had a weird relationship with each other, although I liked at the end when they sorta realised how f*cked up their dynamic and how they grew up was, which in turn made them realise they needed to separate. It was nice seeing Marie, away from the dance school and on her own travelling, while Dara went on a different path, and stayed teaching at the school.
The characters were very much unlikeable, and I didn't feel too attached when either Derek or Charlie died, they were a shock and unexpected but I didn't feel I cared for either of them. Especially considering both of them were cheating on their respective partners, and made questionable decisions throughout the book.
I really liked the surprise of Charlie killing himself, it was somewhat unexpected, as you didn't really get any insight of his thought process. Additionally, I also really liked when Derek died, I disliked his character since his entrance, and it only grew as you saw how he treated Marie and his wife.
I also found it hard to tell if any of these "accidents" were actually accidents, the fire and then flood in the studio, or the fire in their house, all incidents felt like they were planned by someone.

All in all, the story was an interesting one, between the writing style, the story and the unlikeable characters, I couldn't give it more than 3 stars. There were bits I liked and obviously, bits I didn't like, but I think it is a very interesting read.

Content Warnings

wormgirl's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious 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

3.0

Content Warnings

elsebeok's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

bellebelly's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This book is basically fancy VC Andrews.

Content Warnings

kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition

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dark 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

2.0

Content Warnings

stevienielson's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

Content Warnings

abbiemreads's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

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

2.25

I usually love Megan Abbott’s books but this one wasn’t for me really. I like the dark, gritty view of the dance world, the plot overall, and the twists. But overall I found it more predictable and too viscerally sexual this time, with uncomfortable comments towards minors and things too explicit for my liking. I’m not saying it’s a bad book, I really love the writing style, but with the more explicit content, I don’t think this one was for me.

Content Warnings