Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Theme Music by T. Marie Vandelly

9 reviews

throwback682's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Usually if I finish a book and don’t know how I feel about it, scrolling through other people’s reviews helps me process and solidify my feelings. Not this time. I’m still really on the fence. It definitely seems like a love it or hate it book but somehow I just don’t feel either. I didn’t find it horribly predictable nor breathtakingly shocking. Some twists I guessed, some I didn’t. It did have some of my least favorite horror tropes -

bad guy with a facial difference,

mentally ill murderer,

random sexual assault thrown in.

But it kept me very interested, that’s for sure. I don’t know. Very mixed feelings. Sometimes I thought it was going to be a five star, but then… it wasn’t. I liked the epilogue better than the final chapter. Should you read it? Solid maybe. Shrug. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal death, Fatphobia, Infidelity, and Pregnancy

Casual usage of a slur for Romani people, as a synonym for “shortchanged”

killmoore_'s review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Despite predicting the ending very early on, I thoroughly enjoyed Theme Music. It's a wild ride from start to finish. Check your trigger warnings, it gets gruesome.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

bleaksalad's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious sad medium-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

Theme Music was so much fun to read. This book is like if the craziest unsolved true crime case you know got crazier 20 years later. The plot is crafted to make sure you never know what’s gonna happen next and every reveal leaves you questioning what you thought you knew. Even though for 75% of the story Dixie is an incredibly unlikable character, she’s the realest protagonist I’ve read in a horror novel in a while. If I thought I was being haunted by my gruesome dead family I’d be delusional too. Some of the more bloody scenes were kind of hard to follow logistically and the “final battle” was a little corny, but that didn’t negatively affect my understanding of the story at all. If you’re looking for gore with a heartfelt plot, Theme Music is definitely worth a read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Sexual assault

nminst's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

This book definitely took an unexpected spin towards the end. It was very slow for me but, some chapters did capture my attention. If you enjoy eerie, mysterious, books with gore then this is the story for you!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

pjsans's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Alcohol

yamsfortsukki's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I was really enjoying it at first. The first few chapters were great and I could see how the big reveal was organized and there definitely was an attempt. However, it was kind of hard to follow near the end, I felt like the  

killer was kind of random and only hinted at the beginning with the Axe or whatever

...or maybe I didn't read into the lines enough. Something that didn't sit right with me was  

Garett's sudden change in character? First he didn't want anything to do with the house but near the end my guy is basically an accomplice to the whole thing, he knows the truth about Erin and Leah but he didn't ever bother telling authorities?

Also I wanna rant soooooo bad about Dixie, but she's funny so it makes up for her absolutely psychotic behaviour. I could totally see this as a Netflix show or an episode of black mirror and you best believe I'd eat that sh*t upppp. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

teaandtales1's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: T. Marie Vandelly
𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭: Dixie Wheeler was the lone survivor of a horrifying massacre that took the lives of her family members as they sat at their kitchen table. Now an adult, Dixie discovers her old house is on the market and decides it would be a great idea to move in. 
𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬: 387
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Horror
𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝: Yes! 
𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭: Yes
𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝: current
<b>Read if You Like:</b> Haunted house stories, family drama/repressed trauma
𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Whoooowee this book has a lot packed into it and is definitely not for gore-averse readers. Dixie makes a terrible decision to move into her old home, becomes haunted by her family members, alienates the people closest to her, and then continues making horrible decisions. Despite all that, Vandelly has written a really engaging and unique take on the haunted house story, and I loved it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Gore

Moderate: Alcoholism

mary_stormageddon's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

It had me guessing until the end. It's very dark, very descriptive, and very disturbing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

elkiebear's review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, and Chronic illness